Couples of Domino High
by cryingmybest
Summary: Keeping her relationship a secret was hard, but keeping someone else’s relationship a secret was harder.
1. chapter 1

**I've decided to write something other than one-shots, so here we go. Finally I can write my absolute favorite shipping (Vaseshipping for life I love this ship so much i could die omgg). I plan on giving Amane the main role, and let her discover the secret love of Atem and Mana. Also, I might add some of my other favorite ships.**

 **I really want to write a multi-chaptered fic, but I can't promise anything.**

 **PS: My version of Amane has teal eye color, white short hair that barely reaches (brushes) her shoulders and wild like Bakura's. Speaking of my man** **, he's going to be the older brother of both Amane and Ryou, who are the same age. But you can picture her however you want.**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.**

* * *

The girl with the snow white hair raised her head from her lunch. "Huh? Oh, I'm sorry Joey, I kind of spaced out. Did you tell me something?" She looked at the smiling face of the said boy. He scratched his head.

"I was just asking about your day. You look tired." Indeed she was tired. She had transferred to her brothers' school at the start of this school year, and adjusting to the new changes was taking a toll on her. It had been a month already, but she still got lost around the school, couldn't get used to the class scheduls, and most importantly, she missed her friends from her old school. Sure, she wasn't alone here. She had her brothers, and their friends that she met at the first day of school. There were sweethearts like Yugi, Joey, Tea, Mana and Kisara; and the more serious ones like Atem and Kaiba. They had accepted her to their circle of friends, which she was grateful.

"Yeah, I'm a bit tired. It has been a long week for me. I just want to go home and sleep for the next three days." Amane wore a lazy grin.

Mana raised her arms and stretched in her place. "Oof, I know what you mean. Boy am I glad today's Friday!" she happily sang. It was clear that the brunette was excited.

"Ah yeah, me too!" Joey turned to his right to look at the boy with the soft purple eyes and the freaky hair style. "You're still coming over, right Yugi?" Amane remembered their previous conversation earlier today when Joey invited Yugi and Atem over to his house, to hang out and for them to stay over that night. Unfortunately for Joey, Atem rejected his offer, saying that he was busy. But Yugi happily agreed and made the blond guy's day.

Amane listened to their conversation for a little longer, until she continued to eat her lunch. She had been waiting for lunchtime after all. _I'm never skipping breakfast again._ As she took another bite from her sandwich, Mana turned to her.

"Have any plans for the weekend Amane?" the brunette asked.

Amane thought for second there. _Not that I know of. I'm not in the mood for going out these days though. "_ No, at least, I don't think so. Why?"

"My brother is out of the country, he's visiting our parents abroad. Kisara and Tea is going to come to my house this Saturday. Would you like to come as well?" Mana giggled. "The idea definitely came from Joey by the way."

 _She is so...cute._ Mana was cute. Not just her physical appearance, which also had its beauty, but her behavior too. She was a person that could be friends with anyone easily, bringing happiness to wherever she went, beaming with light and joy. Amane felt glad that she met her.

"Sure, but why not today?" She watched as Mana's cheeks gained a pink shade. But she kept her cool.

"Well, I have to tidy up the house, you know? It's a mess around there." She gave a quick glance to her right. "So can I expect you tomorrow?"

Amane nodded and took another bite.

"They're gonna bang." Someone whispered in her ear. She realized it was her big brother sitting next to her. Amane snorted, and rolled her eyes at him.

"I doubt that. Didn't you saw the screaming match between them?" As cheery as she is, Mana did get aggressive sometimes. Especially when it came to one specific person. She just couldn't get along with Atem Moto, so as it seemed. Not that he looked like he was enjoying her company either. He would mess with her hair, tease her about clothes or makeup, and start a fight whenever she and Bakura flirted.

But somehow those two always hung out together. Supposedly, it was because they had the same friend group.

Bakura grinned slightly, and leaned away from his sister. "Whatever you say. Just don't be surprised when they go public."

Her brother's suggestion sparked an interest in Amane. _That's crazy. She flirts with big brother all the time._

Amane looked at Mana. She was drinking pink lemonade, eyeing the person next to her. Surprisingly(!), it was Atem Moto himself. He had his elbow propped on the table, resting his head on his hand. He was mumbling something that Amane couldn't hear.

But it looked like Mana could hear him clearly, as she put the bottle on the table and nodded to him. She leaned in and whispered something, and Amane could swore she saw that the sides of his lips curled into a smile that he tried to suppress.

 _Maybe not that crazy._ Another bite.

 **What is original content lol. Also, of course I had to add a little Bakura x Mana. I'm not going to make them a thing though. And no, I'm not gonna go all dramatic, I want my kids to have fun. I'm just letting Mana flirt with my man just so she can piss Atem off (asdfghjkl).**

 **Let me know if I should continue 'kay?**


	2. chapter 2

**Hey there! I just wanted to clear things up a bit about the first chapter. When Bakura and Amane were having their conversation, she actually asked who he was referring to, and he told her that he was talking about Atem and Mana, but I kind of deleted that part and forgot to change how it went on.**

 **Okay, I can now continue with the story, thanks for reading!!**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.**

 _Just my luck._ Amane walked down the halls, swinging the little purse in her hand. They looked even more intimidating when they were empty. And large. She scoffed. The school was big, and yet, there were no restrooms on her floor! _Oh yes, let's build a giant freaking school, and put restrooms on every floor! Except the third floor. There are sophomores there. We mustn't let the sophomores go to the bathroom at piece! They have to walk for miles, and get lost in this incredible maze that we call 'a school'._

She had to find the stairs, which were at the other side of the wing. Her class was 2A, the furthest class from the stairs, so it was a long walk to her destination. She would have to walk by all of the other classes first.

Amane sighed. In her old school she didn't have problems like this. It was smaller and cute, and she didn't have to worry about getting lost while trying to go to the bathroom. There were two just in her floor.

 _Freshman year was good._ If only her big brother hadn't ruined it by asking their parents if she could attend his school. His reasoning was that Ryou felt lonely without her.

Bakura, Ryou and Amane all went to the same school until two years ago when Bakura graduated from middle school, and enrolled at Domino High. Last year, Ryou had followed his brother, whereas Amane had decided to stay and continue her education at her own school. Bakura didn't like that at all. He was protective of those two little idiots, and wanted keep them under his eyesight. So when the summer came, he used Ryou, and added that he was worrying about her lovely little sister.

Amane laughed at the thought. She knew better, of course. He just wanted to keep the boys away, and assumed that if she went to the same school as him, he could accomplish that.

 _Yeah, you keep doing that big brother._ She smirked and pulled out her phone from her jacket's pocket. _You keep believing that you're keeping them away._

She checked the clock, and made sure he was on break, so she didn't get him into trouble. She dialed the number and observed the walls as she waited the phone ring, her phone raised to her ear.

" _Hello?"_ said her dream boy.

"I'm not interrupting anything right?" Amane asked. She hoped not.

" _No, not at all. I was actually going to call you first, but...you were...supposed to be in class- are you skipping class young lady, because if you are I will come down there and..."_

"Will you please calm down? I asked to use the bathroom. I really needed to go." She looked down to the purse. _Really. "_ Also, you know me better than that."

" _Right. But, why would you call me on the way to the bathroom? I mean that's just clingy."_

"Well, it takes me a little less than 10 minutes to reach the bathroom, I thought I wouldn't waste it, you know?"

" _Oh yeah, I forgot that. We still have our more than enough bathrooms back here."_ he teased.

She turned the corner, and walked through the long hallway, and finally walked up the stairs. "So are you coming tonight?"

" _Yep. Don't forget to buy popcorn this time please. I already told Bakura, but knowing him, he's going to forget it for sure. I'm trusting you with this."_

"What an honor, thank you. But we have popcorn at home, no worries." Amane reached the fourth floor and walked to the restrooms. They were a few steps away. "I have to go now. I'll call you after school alright?"

" _Okay. Love you."_

Amane blushed like crazy, this wasn't the first time he told her this, but she always went tomato red like it was the first time she heard him say it.

"I love you too." She paused. "This feels weird when you're standing in front of a bathroom."

" _Oh, must you always ruin the moment?"_ he said with fake disappointment that made Amane laugh.

"Bye..." She ended the call and deleted the number from her recents. It was a shame that she had to do this whenever they talked, or to delete the messages they have sent to each other.

Amane put her hand on the door's handle, and was about the open it but a sound that came behind it made her stop. _Was that..._

It was coming from a girl. Then another one followed. From someone else. And Amane was certain that the second voice did not come from a girl. _Is someone... Oh my..._

She knocked on the door. _I'm knocking on a public bathroom's door. God, this is stupid. "_ Hello? Is eveything alright in there?"

Maybe she had assumed wrong. Maybe a girl started feeling unwell, and her friend, who is for some reason a boy, was trying to help her out. _That didn't sound like she was sick though. It was far from it._

She stepped away when the door suddenly opened, and revealed Mana. Amane took a second to observe the girl. She was taking in quick breathes, her lips stretched to a smile. Her brown poofy hair looked like somebody was trying to tie it into knots. She saw a kiss mark where she could easily hide by buttoning her crinkled shirt's open collar.

"Hey! Aren't you supposed to be in class lovely?" Mana asked with a cheerful tone. She was keeping the door closed as possible, and blocking Amane's view with her own body.

"Aren't _you_ supposed to be in class?" asked Amane, and put her hands on her hips. She didn't come here to be questioned.

"Yeah, uh... I had to use the bathroom."

"You have a hickey on your neck." Amane said with a flat tone. Mana laughed nervously and touched the damp surface on her neck.

"You don't say..." The brunette averted her eyes from Amane's, searching for an answer. "What are you doing here anyway? This is the junior's bathroom."

"There is no sophomore's bathroom!" Amane flung her arms around in annoyance. "Don't even make me start about that."

Mana looked away as she thought of last year. "Oh yeah..." Then she saw the purse, dangling from a string that was around Amane's wrist. "Ah, okay."

Amane straightened her skirt, and cleared her throat. "Can I enter now?" She sure wasn't patient.

Mana looked inside the bathroom, and whispered something. Then she turned to Amane. "Could you please give me a second?" Without waiting for a response, she quickly shut the door closed.

 _Why me?_

A few seconds later, Mana opened the door, and stepped away so the girl finally could enter. Amane quirked an eyebrow as she noticed that Mana was staring. The second she was inside, Mana closed the door and sighed. _She is very strange. Good thing she's pretty cool too._

Amane looked around. There were four stalls, and one of them was being used. Amane grinned when she noticed something on the sink and looked at Mana. She had buttoned her collar.

The white haired girl walked up to the closed stall door and raised her hand to wave at whoever was inside. _I have this_ crazy _idea, but to make it work..._

Someone held onto her wiggling fingers. Their hand was warm.

"Hi big brother!" Amane sang. And that someone dropped her hand immediately.

"What?" he yelled out from inside the stall. The door opened fast, while Mana and Amane started to laugh.

There Atem was, his face red from both anger and the previous act. "What would _his_ business be here?"

"Sorry, I just knew if had said your name you wouldn't respond." Amane said through her giggles. Her laughter was fading as she observed him as well. His leather choker was gone, and she saw a few kiss marks around his neck. ' _It's a style' my ass. I found your little secret Mr. Moto._ Some of them were fading, reminding Amane that this wasn't the first time.

She walked to the sink and took the choker. "I suppose this is yours?" She held it to Atem. The boy's eyes widened, he took the choker from her, and fastened it around his neck.

The trio stayed silent then. What was there to be said?

"I have questions." Amane started. "First of all, what is going on between you two? Are you rivals, friends, or lovers?" She turned to Mana. "Why do you keep flirting with my brother, and then make out with Atem?" She pointed and looked at him. "And why are you okay with this? If you're not okay with this, then why aren't you doing something about it except pouting like a child?"

The couple looked at each other, and then at Amane. Mana was the one who decided to answer.

"Amane... There are things you don't know that caused this."

Amane rolled her eyes. "You pretend to hate each other, but actually love the other one. What is there to not understand?" Though it was complicated, Amane had gotten the basic idea.

"Will you just...nevermind." Mana got closer to the girl and put her hands on Amane's shoulders. "Look Amane, this is really important, okay? You have to forget what you saw."

"I'll forget it if you tell me about it." Amane suggested.

Mana sighed and let go of her shoulders. "Alright. Me and Atem are dating. But we prefer keeping it hidden. Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

"Yeah, I got that already." She rolled her eyes again. Then it came to her. "Why do you flirt with big brother then?"

"She does it to piss me off." Atem said behind her.

Mana snorted. "That, and to make people think I'm into Bakura."

Amane frowned at that. "But that's playing with his emotions!" She knew Bakura didn't look like he had actual feelings inside him, and that he could hide them very well.

"It's not if he knows I don't mean it." Mana stated. "He knows about us."

 _So he wasn't just assuming things when he told me that. "_ Okay, I understand that too. What I still don't understand is _why?_ What happened to make you keep this a secret?" _Not like_ I _could judge them. I'm no better._

Atem and Mana shared a glance. "That's not important." said Atem.

Amane sighed. She wanted to know. She had weird habits like that. Once she found out about something, she had to learn more of it. "Would you guys tell me about it if I...shared my own story with you?" she asked.

"Your own?" Mana's attention was sparked. "What's going on with you?"

Looking down as she played with her fingers, Amane spoke. "I have a boyfriend. And we have to keep our relationship a secret too, especially from big brother. You see, they're best friends. We met him at third grade. Well, when he and big brother were in third grade. He lived close by to us, and went to the same school. Big brother and him would agree on pretty much anything and hung out together a lot, soon they became best friends. Therefore, me and Ryou got to know him as well."

"Oh, I see. You developed a crush on him?" Mana asked.

"Kind of. We were friends too. Whenever he came over to our house, he would always spend some time with me too. I didn't saw it anything more than friendship at first. Then I realized it was something more. I denied it until he confessed his love two years ago. That made me accept my own feelings, after accepting his. And last year was the best. Because big brother and Ryou were here, and I was back there with him. Big brother had trusted him with keeping an eye on me. But he wasn't entirely convinced, so here I am." She breathed out. "Maybe he already knows. I would probably be dead if he knew though."

Mana and Atem stared at her. "Amane..." said Atem, while looking at Mana.

Amane felt weird after saying all that. She had no reason to trust them. They were her friends, but she had met them a month ago, and that didn't seem enough to trust a person with an information like this, but what's done was done.

"We keep it secret because of my brother too." Mana looked at the girl. "Atem and him are very close friends. But he is protective of me, and there is no way he would let us be together." She chuckled. "I can't believe how similar our love life is!"

Atem turned to Amane and held out his hand to her. "Your secret is safe with us, as long as ours is with you."

Without a doubt Amane took his hand to shake it.

 **Wow that was fast. I really love these pure souls you have no idea. In the middle of Amane's long speech, I remembered that she was actually dead, and knowing that she probably didn't experience these kind of things made my eyes water.**

 **So uhmm... I hope you liked this chapter. You would make me glad if you would tell me your opinions on it, though I guess it doesn't matter because I will keep writing about my sweet angel anyway.**

 **This is cryingmybest, and I love a dead girl.**


	3. chapter 3

**Chapter 2's ending felt kinda rushed, so sorry for that. It won't happen again.**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.**

After the whole 'Mana and Atem have a secret relationship that is similar to Amane's secret relationship I can't belive this' scene in the bathroom, Amane felt closer to the couple. _I know what they're going through._ She eyed them. _Maybe we could help each other out with stuff._ As usual, they were arguing about something trivial. But at least they were together.

"I'm thirsty." Atem mumbled. Mana turned to him.

"I have an extra pink lemonade."

"I hate pink lemonade."

And with that, another argument had started in the middle of another one. Amane rolled her eyes. Next time, she was going to pick another route to walk home.

"Amane. Amane." The girl looked at her right, where Ryou was whispering, and beckoning her to come closer. He had stopped, so the group could go on. Amane assumed that he was going to say something private. She walked up to him.

"What is it?" she asked with a low voice.

"I was wondering if you were alright." He noticed that the group had walked far enough, so he started to walk slowly, with Amane next to him. "You took your time while you went to the bathroom."

Ryou had been really worried when she didn't come back for quite a while. Amane felt bad for making him feel like this. "I'm fine Ryou, really. I kind of...got lost on my way is all." She smiled to reassure him.

"If you say so..." he said, looking forward, and quickened his pace to reach the group when he saw Bakura stop and turn around.

"We're going this way." Bakura said to the others. A bunch of 'goodbye's were heard, and the three white haired siblings separated from the group and continued walking to their house in silence.

It wasn't too far away luckily. They walked by a couple of houses; the one where the weird old woman lived, the one where the kids were too loud, the one where a really cute dog always barked when someone passed by, and turned left. The green house on the right, was theirs.

They saw someone already waiting for them, leaning on the tall fence, looking at his phone. Amane tried to look as still as possible, though she knew she had rosy cheeks.

He heard the footsteps, and looked up. A smile found its way on his face when he saw his friends, and he lifted his hand to wave at them. "Took you guys long enough."

"Marik!" Ryou and Amane waved back, while smiling, and closing their eyes to give him their signature move. "Why are you waiting outside?" Ryou asked.

"I rang the bell, but I guess your mom isn't home."

Bakura shrugged his shoulders. "Let's get inside already. Do you have the movie?" he asked as he passed by Marik and opened the fence door.

"It's right here." He patted his jacket's pocket. Then he turned to Ryou and Amane. "Hey guys."

Bakura opened the door with his key, they all entered and took off their shoes. "Marik." Bakura turned to Marik after he put his shoes beside the wall. "Let me change my clothes and then I'll join you."

He walked up the stairs, Ryou and Amane following him like ducklings. Bakura and Ryou went to their room on the right, and Amane turned to left to go to hers. They used to share one big room, the one that Bakura and Ryou used now. But a few years ago her mother had prepared the old guest room for Amane to stay in, saying that she needed her privacy as a young woman.

Amane entered her room and laid her bag on the floor. She took off her uniform's jacket, and hung it around the back of his chair. She then walked to her bed, and lazily threw herself on it, her face pressed against her pillow. _I want to sleep sleep sleep._ She heard a knock on her door.

"Come in!" Amane yelled out, though her voice was muffled. Her door opened, and she moved her face to look. She saw Marik come inside, and close the door behind him. Amane sat up straight on the bed, and beckoned him to come sit next to her.

"You were going to call?" he asked, slowly walking towards her and sat on the bed.

"I didn't have the time." She held onto his shoulder and leaned to kiss him on the cheek. "How was your day?"

Marik grinned. He turned his face to hers and stole a quick peck from her. Amane immediately pulled back, her face red once again. She felt the same feeling whenever they kissed. It made her body tingle with delight.

"It was okay." His smile grew wider when he saw Amane close her eyes, and try to get rid of her blush.

"Don't do that." Amane said, shaking her head, looking down.

"Don't do what, kiss my girlfriend?" He asked playfully.

"Shhh, keep it low." She put her hand on his mouth, which he kissed too. "I mean, don't do it so suddenly." She pulled back her hand.

"Alright." Marik brought his hands up and cupped her cheeks, as he slowly got closer. Amane could feel the same feeling grow inside her. It was like somebody was tickling her belly, but instead of making her laugh like crazy and screaming for them to stop, it made her blush and want more of it.

Their lips met for an innocent kiss. Amane gripped the blanket under them, as the feeling radiated through her body.

She felt his tongue brush against her lips, but then he pulled back before she could do anything. He breathed in and out for a second, looking away.

"Bakura. He's in the bathroom. I heard the bathroom door shut." He squeezed her cheeks. "I better go downstairs before he does."

"It could be Ryou."

"He doesn't slam doors. And it doesn't change anything even if it _is_ Ryou." Marik got up and walked to the door. But before he left, he looked back and grinned. "Thanks for the kiss." he said with a wink, and quietly leaved the room.

Amane's already out of control heart started beating faster, and she flung herself on her bed, her back facing the blanket. _This boy is going to be the end of me._

She took off her uniform and changed into a more comfortable outfit, which were white sweatpants and one of Ryou's old sweatshirts. She ruffled with her hair, and left the room.

Downstairs, she saw that Bakura and Marik were in the living room, talking about the movie. She moved to the kitchen, in there, Ryou was putting the popcorn package in the microwave. She walked to her brother and hugged him from the back, making him jump. He turned around, and saw Amane.

"Amane... You startled me." He smiled and hugged her back. The close relationship they had was really important to them. Of course, Amane would never choose a favorite between her brothers, she loved them both so dearly. But Ryou showed more of his emotions, and shared more with her sister, so Amane would come to him to get attention when she needed it.

They parted, and Amane smiled at her brother. "Let's join them until this gets ready." She held his hand and walked to the living room, where Marik and Bakura was. Ryou sat down next to Marik on the large sofa. And Amane kneeled on the floor and sat next to Bakura's legs, and laid her head on his knees. Bakura's one hand went to her head. He slowly massaged her sculp, and played with her hair.

 _He has his times too._ Amane sometimes went to Bakura for what she needed. Despite his looks, he was entirely different from Ryou. He liked to keep his feelings and thoughts to himself. And he didn't care if the people around him didn't trust him because of that. Because neither did he.

But he always made sure to let them know that he cared about Ryou and Amane. He was never distant when it came to them. While keeping his usual behavior, he would show his love towards them in his own way.

Amane started feel rather comfortable under his touch, and closed her eyes. She heard the microwave, and Ryou getting up and walking past her. She wanted to get up and help him, but the exhaustion from earlier today was getting the best of her. So she stayed like that for a few more minutes until someone talked to her.

"Amane." She opened her eyes half-way. "You're sleeping." said Marik.

"I'm not." She mumbled and closed her eyes again.

"I can almost hear you snore." Marik rolled his eyes.

"I don't." She felt Bakura's hand leave her head, and she groaned to let him know that she wanted him to continue. But instead, he grabbed her shoulders and made her look at him.

"Go upstairs and sleep Amane." He patted her head to fix her hair that he messed up.

"But-"

"But nothing. Go take a nap. I'll wake you up." Bakura held her hands to help her get on her feet, as she sighed and admitted defeat. Amane drowsily walked to the door, just when Ryou came in.

"Where to?" he asked. He was holding a tray with four glasses and a big bowl of popcorn. He was carrying a soda bottle under his arm.

"Bed." Amane left the room, and went upstairs. She entered her room, not bothering to close the door. _Sleep sleep sleep._ She laid on her bed, and got underneath the blanket. As her eyes started to close again, she watched the sky from her window. The sun was about to set.

 **Hi I don't have a life, and prefer writing this instead of getting my own sleep. But she deserves it.**

 **Also, I hate the way I end my chapters. Going to work on that.**

 **Thanks for reading!!**


	4. chapter 4

**I'm going to start this chapter with some Vaseshipping. I didn't want to wake Amane up in the morning at the beginning, so instead of skipping, I'm going to show you how Atem and Mana work things out.**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.**

The brunette pulled back from her lover's lips and gazed at him. They held onto each other, trying to even their breathing.

Mana leaned away, and moved her hand from his neck, to his cheek. The small smile she saw on his face made her smile too, as she continued to watch his calm face. He had closed his eyes, and leaned into her hand. Mana heard him let out a noise, perhaps he had said something, but she didn't quite get it.

His arms were still around her waist, keeping her close and in place, where she straddled his hips. Atem opened his eyes slightly. He moved one of his hands to her back, and pulled her closer once more. Mana's hand left his cheek. With a slight moan, he buried his face in her neck, kissing the skin where his lips could reach. His hand on her back found its way up, and he entwined his fingers with her hair.

Atem moved forward, leaving a trail of kisses on her neck up to her lips, the soft noises that Mana made encouraging him further. But before he could reach them, they were interrupted by a song that came from the coffee table.

Mana hesitantly leaned away a bit from Atem to turn around and look at the source of the voice. It was her phone ringing, and moving as it buzzed. She sighed and moved to her knees to get off of him. Atem groaned to make sure Mana knew that he wasn't expecting her to get up to her feet.

The girl smoothed down her skirt as she pinched his cheek. Then she put her hands over his, beckoning them to let her go. Atem lightened his grip on her, but being the tease he is, he slowly moved his hands down, over her thighs, before plopping them on the couch. He couldn't stop the smirk forming on his lips, after seeing her shudder.

Mana qiuckly got off of him, and picked up her phone that had stopped ringing a few seconds ago. After seeing Mahad's name on the screen, she called him back. The phone rang two times.

" _Mana."_

"I know, I was upstairs, sorry. Couldn't reach here in time." She sighed and sat next to Atem. This was the third time he had called today. "Why did you call this time?"

" _To check up on you, what else? Are you alright? Is everything still intact?"_

"Yes, I'm doing fine." She groaned and then chuckled. "This isn't the first time I'm spending the night home alone you know." _Except I won't be alone._ Mana put her hand on his knee. Atem didn't take his time to put his over hers.

 _"You can't blame a brother for worrying. Well, if eveything is alright then that's all. Just wanted to make sure. Let me know if you want anything from here."_

"Will do. Bye..." Mana sighed and ended the call, tossing the phone. She leaned her head on Atem's shoulder. "He left just this morning. How much paranoid can he be?"

Atem chuckled and put his arm around her shoulders. "I am too. What if he bursts through the door and tells us that he actually never left and knew what was going on all along, what are we gonna do then?" He started to make a circular pattern on her forearm with his finger.

"What we always do."

"I'm not in the mood to start a fight." The breeze coming from an open window felt nice on his face. A growling from his stomach was heard, making him groan, and Mana giggle.

"Alright, dinner time!" she cheered and jumped off the couch, holding his hand. "Come on, we haven't eaten since lunch I'm starving." Her eyes sparkled as she thought of a romantic scene between the two. "We could cook together."

Atem got up too, not leaving her hand. "Can we order out? I really don't want to enter the kitchen with you."

"How dare you." Mana said, with a flat voice. Her eyes narrowed, and she pulled at his arm. She knew he didn't meant it though.

"Amane."

Bakura sat on the egde of the bed, and put her hands on the both sides of the sleeping form of his sister. She was stirring wake, because the lighting of the hallway coming in from the door was hurting her half opened eyes. Other than that her room was dark. _How long have I been sleeping?_

What time is it?" Her voice was weak but she was slowly getting to her senses.

"Nine o'clock. Come down and eat something."

Bakura's long hair fell in front of his face over his shoulder, and tickled Amane's nose. She scrunched up her face, and brushed it off.

"Is Marik still here?" Amane asked, followed with a yawn.

"Yes." He held her from her shoulders and forced her to sit up straight. His grip on her was tight, making her hiss with slight pain. Bakura often forgot how strong his movements were. Realizing he had hurt her, he released Amane. "Sorry."

"It's okay." She buried her face on his shoulder, about the fall asleep again in her uncomfortable position. "What's for dinner?"

"We ate junk food all night, but mom just came, she's preparing something." The older boy put his hand on her head. She was like a small kitten. "Go wash your face."

Amane opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling until she was fully awake. She blinked a couple of times, and shook her head. "I should help mom."

Bakura got up on his feet, and helped Amane as well. They left the room, Bakura went back downstairs, after shoving Amane into the bathroom for her to wash her face and fix her cute bedhead.

She came back with wider eyes, and a small smile. Jumping around like a little girl, Amane entered the kitchen first. Her mother was sitting on the table, sipping tea. White hair pulled up into an updo, teal eyes scanning a page of the magazine in front of her. She looked up when she saw her little girl.

"Amane, you're awake." Her mother smiled. "The boys told me that you were feeling tired. I assumed you wouldn't wake up until tomorrow."

"Big brother woke me up."

"Well of course, he told me that you only had a sandwich for lunch. And you claim that you wake up full and leave without having breakfast... I swear one of these days you're going to fall ill. It's good that he woke you up."

Her mother stood up from the table and opened one of the cupboards, picked a clean plate for her and piled the food she had cooked. She made Amane sit down, and didn't let her leave until she finished it.

"Mom, that was not necessary. Nor fun." Amane wiped her mouth with a washcloth, and put the fork in her now empty plate.

Ignoring her comment, her mom waved her off. "You can go inside now. They've been waiting for you to wake up after all."

Amane stood, she picked the dirty plate and the utensils up and put them in the dishwasher. Then, after leaving a kiss on her mother's cheek, she walked off to greet the boys. She opened the door, and smiled at the three heads turning to her way. Closing the door behind her, Amane walked further in the room, and sat next to Ryou on the floor.

"Did you eat?" The older brother asked eyeing her.

"Yep." She looked on the coffee table. They had made a mess, bowls of chips, half empty glasses, chocolate bar packagings... Which Amane was shocked by, because her boys did not like to consume this much junk food.

"You missed all the fun Ami." Marik leaned further and grabbed the girl's head, sitting on the floor, in front of him. He started to mess with her hair.

Never liking it whenever someone messed with her newly done hair, Amane got a hold of his hands, and made him let go. She shuffled away so he couldn't reach her. "Yeah well, I've seen that movie before."

The sounds coming from the TV got louder as the commercials started, Ryou picked up the remote and muted it.

Marik looked at the watch on his wrist, and saw it was getting late. If he asked he could probably crash here, but he hadn't done that in years. The thought of giving uncomfort to Amane after his confession was holding him back. They've known each other for a long time maybe, but it was different ever since they started dating.

She knew him, what he would and wouldn't do, but he didn't want to risk anything.

"It's kinda late. Maybe I should..." Before he could finish his sentence, his phone rang and he picked it up. It was his sister telling him that he should come home soon.

He got up on his feet, and put his phone in his back pocket. "That was my sister." Without needing any further explanation, he picked up his jacket that was thrown over on the couch and headed to the door, with Amane following him.

"Wait, I'll see you out." She turned to her brothers. "Aren't _you_ supposed to do that?"

Bakura shrugged his shoulders and continued to stare at the silent television. "He knows the way to the door, doesn't he?"

Amane shook her head, and they left the room. In the hall, Marik wore his shoes, then with Amane's help, his jacket. He stood in front of her, hands on his hips.

"So... Are you free tomorrow?" he asked, and tilted his head to the side. He was so _gosh darn cute_.

"No actually, I was invited somewhere. Maybe tomorrow evening?"

"I was here tonight, if I leave tomorrow night too Ishizu is going to nag. How about Sunday?"

Amane stopped and thought for a second. She was free that day. With a smile, she nodded. "Sunday works for me."

"Good. We'll talk." Before leaving the house, he quickly pulled her into a hug. "Good night Ami." he whispered in her ear, and kissed her temple. This small gesture has always melted her heart, but she gave a pat on his back so he would pull back before someone else sees.

"Good night." They parted and Marik left. After watching him leave and closing the door -and locking it of course- Amane returned to the living room. Ryou was sitting on the couch now, playing with the ends of his hair. The older brother was still looking at the screen, bored out of his mind. He gave a quick glance at her.

"You could've woken me up earlier you know." She looked at the clock on the wall. "It's nearly ten. I'm going to bed in thirty minutes."

"I woke you up so you could eat something. It's Saturday tomorrow, you can stay up late." He patted the couch he was sitting on, signaling Amane to sit next to him.

"No, I'll just go and lay down. I'm pretty sure I can fall asleep again." She walked in the room, and got closer to Bakura to give him a kiss on the cheek. "See you guys in the morning." Amane gave Ryou a kiss too, then left them to go upstairs, into her room. Not bothering to switch the lights on, she just went straight to her bed and crawled under the blanket. Her eyes were open, darting on the ceiling.

As expected, it would take time for her to sleep again, but this gave her time to think about things.

 _Ah, I wish I kissed him back. Am I hurting his feelings when I don't? I mean, we're past_ that _part of a relationship. The awkward 'this is new to me, so we should start slow_ ' _months are far gone. So he would tell me if he was._

Amane closed her eyes and shielded them with her arm.

 _Why do I always hold back? He's my boyfriend! It makes sense if I want to show that I love him. It's been two years, and I feel like I'm just toying with him at this point. I do know he loves me, I don't have doubts about that. Otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to this._

Keeping their relationship a secret was what Amane wanted. She did like Marik, and seeing how would it go to be with him sounded good, but she was afraid of Bakura. It was certain that he would not agree of them being together. He would scold Amane, and get into a fight with Marik.

But she didn't want that. She didn't want to get on her big brother's bad side. Amane knew he would forgive her at some point, but gaining Bakura's trust was no easy task. And losing it when you already had it meant you had no chance of having it back.

 _And what about Marik?_ Bakura would fight with him, for courting his sister behind his back, and lying to him. They would both lose their best and most trusted friend.

 _He wouldn't let us see each other either._ Her big brother would look at her phone and follow her everywhere. Bakura didn't know what boundaries were.

 _I wish it could be easier. Maybe if I talk to Ryou about it, he could help me out._

She quickly scratched that idea. If Bakura were to suspect something, the first person he would go to was Ryou. And the sweet boy couldn't keep a secret to save his life. It would probably go downhill from that point.

 _How did Mana and Atem last this long?_

After Amane caught them in the act, they talked for a while. The couple had told her that this has been going on for a really long time.

 _I mean, congrats for the four year mark I guess, but seriously? Four years. Four years of secrecy, lies, tricks and plays._

Amane rolled to her side and pushed her head deeper in her pillow, as more thoughts dwelled in her mind.

 _Are_ we _going to have to lie that long? Are we even going to last that long? I definitely want it to. I love Marik._

Her heart warmed even at the thought of him. She liked him when he was Bakura's friend. She liked him when he came to their house for Bakura, but still stayed with her when she told her that he was gone. She liked him when she would get into a silly argument with her big brother and Marik would always pick her side. Because he cared for her and made sure she knew it too.

 _Come to think of it, he did flirted with me for a long time, before we started dating._

Marik didn't care if Bakura was there to see it. He knew he saw it as something platonic, so wouldn't pay too much mind into it. And even if he did, Marik would still do whatever he wanted.

 _If I were to tell big brother, what would Marik do? Would he defend our relationship?_

Amane sighed with a smile settling on her lips.

 _Yes, that sounds like him. He would claim me proudly. But if he gets that bold, big brother would get angry at him. Thus, making the way to a broken friendship._

Then something crossed Amane's mind. Something she didn't thought of before.

 _But wouldn't it be better if I dated someone he trusted other than some other guy? Someone he knew for years, and not a stranger?_

 _Though I guess it's too late for that. It's been a long time since this started. Once big brother finds out we're going to lose his trust._

The thought of Bakura being distant to her made her stomach churn. She loved her brother. He was always there for her. He helped her through bad times and defended her when someone did her wrong. He cheered her up when she was down and he messed with her when she got clumsy. They were close, and Amane couldn't ask for more.

She sat up on the bed, pulling her legs closer to her body as she did.

 _It's no use. It always comes down to one thing. Big brother's trust._

She put her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands.

 _I can only hope that it will all turn out to be good in the end._

 ** _Finally done with this chapter. Procrastinating is a very serious issue._**

 ** _I'm happy that I could finally write some Vaseshipping, now I can move onto Amane and Marik fluff. By the way, I don't know the shipping name for them, so if you do you could help your girl out._**

 ** _Lots of love._**


	5. chapter 5

**You know what's worse than watching a filler? Reading a filler.**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.**

Amane smoothed down her skirt. She had dressed up in a white oversize sweater, an old, pink skirt that she loved and black stockings. Her white bangs were being held in place by the sides of her face with bobby-pins. She smiled at her reflection on the mirror.

"Amane!" Coming from the hallway was her big brother's booming voice. "Are you dressed?" He knocked on the door.

"Yup, come in."

Her door opened, and Bakura entered the room. He was wearing jeans and long sleeved shirt, with his long black coat. "Let's go, if you're ready."

Amane picked up her bag that laid on the bed and followed her brother out of the room. He had agreed to walk with Amane to Mana's house, and had to wait for her to get dressed. Now, Amane wasn't the type to dress up all fancy, or do make up that often. But Bakura, who was very impatient, felt like she was always taking so long to get dressed.

Downstairs, Amane spent a good ten minutes to find her brown boots. They had been neatly packed and put away with all the other shoes that were for the cold weather. Winter was slowly approaching though. _We should get them all out and ready to be worn soon._

They left the house, and started to walk in silence. Mana's home was not too far away, but you needed to take a twenty minutes long walk to get there. And since Amane have never been at Mana's, Bakura did her the favor of showing her the way.

"Pay attention to your surroundings and memorize the way alright? I don't want to walk you there every time you guys plan a play date."

"Okay, I'll do that." She giggled at her brother. He was just so cute sometimes. Without him realising, she took a hold of his hand and she started to swing them. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"What is?" He looked around, but looked back at Amane when he couldn't see anything interesting in particular.

"Well, a little bit of _eveything._ The weather is really nice for a walk like this. And, the scenery too. We live in a really good part of the city. It's so green and refreshing and I feel so energetic!"

"When I said 'pay attention' this wasn't what I meant." Bakura rolled his eyes and looked at their conjoined hands. Honestly, Amane was one of the weirdest girls he had ever met. He wouldn't say it out loud but also one of the cutest.

"Maybe not. Also, why wouldn't you walk me there again? We're having a nice time, don't we?" The girl smiled at him, wanting for him to say something positive in return, but knowing she probably won't receive one.

Bakura shrugged as he turned his head to look straight forward. "We're just walking." There was a pause, then he continued. "If you want to hang out, we can do something else."

"Why would you even ask that? I always want to spend time with you." Amane linked thair arm and snuggled closer to her big brother. With her head resting on his shoulder, they walked. Bakura actually liked it when she did that. Feeling someone's love for you was really something else. Even though he wasn't as sociable as Ryou and Amane, he had friends but none of them gave him the feeling that Amane was giving him right now. Of course, he didn't have a favorite between Ryou and Amane. But being the little sister she is, Amane was the one who came more for hugs and kisses.

They didn't talk for the rest of the trip, as Amane was trying to keep her mind focused on her surroundings. The pair arrived after a while, not once releasing each other's hold. Amane would have expected him to jerk his hand off by now.

She knocked on the door, and waited for Mana to come to the door. With a smile on her lips, she turned to Bakura. "How do I look?"

"It's just the girls, you don't have to look- Wait." His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and he lightly squeezed her hand. "It's just the girls, right?"

"Yes, why are you reacting all of a sudden?" He had been there when Mana invited Amane to her house, and heard who was going to be there, so it was pointless to ask this.

"You care about your appearance." he said with a straight face.

"I always do." Amane puffed her cheeks in frustration. "This is my first time coming here, I wanted to look nice is all." She saw Bakura's mouth open to respond, but he couldn't say anything before the sounds of clattering came from just next to them. The door that they've been standing in front of opened, cutting in whatever it was that Bakura wanted to say. Mana greeted them with a big smile.

"Hello!" She cheered. "Oh, Bakura, you're here. Sorry, this is a girls thing only."

Mana's last statement seemed to make Bakura relax, and let go of Amane's hand. "That's okay." A grin grew on his face. "So I'm guessing Atem will have to leave."

"He's not here." Mana said quickly, hoping Bakura would drop it. She didn't want to have this conversation with Amane here.

"Oh, really? I thought he was going to spend the night here?" He snickered. "What did he do that made you kick him out?"

"Bakura..." Mana put her hand over her face to hide her blush. "He didn't... We don't..."

"Yeah, yeah..." He turned to Amane. "Call me when you're done here." Bakura quickly kissed on top of her head, and turned around to leave.

The two girls' hearts warmed at his little gesture, but they didn't say anything, they knew that would probably make Bakura annoyed. So they let him leave in peace. Mana got out of Amane's way so she could enter the home.

Amane's first thought was that it didn't look 'homely' as hers. Her house was smaller in size, but more crowded. Which wasn't a problem actually. They all liked the warm feeling of being together so it hadn't bothered them. She remembered the pile of shoes just next to the door. Everyone would spend hours to find their own pairs. And in the living room, the coffe table always had something to munch on, because of Amane. The kitchen was never empty, the bedrooms were in close proximity, you could shout from Amane's room to Bakura's and expect a response. Except, Bakura didn't respond.

She looked around Mana and her brother's house. It was clean, tidied up and ready to host guests. But it looked like it was from a magazine, and not like someone was living in it. It was still a beautiful house though.

"You can keep your shoes on. We don't take off ours." Mana said, and closed the door. The breeze that came in tickled her face, she smiled.

"Okay." Amane followed Mana into the living room.

 _Fancy_. The first thing that catched the eye was gold. Gold everywhere. On the furnitures, the walls, the drapes... Amane wasn't sure if they were all real or not. "Wow. I...uh...that's a lot of gold."

Mana looked back at her. "Well, if you ask me it's too much. But it's what my parents like so..." she walked and flung herself on the couch, motioning for Amane to join her as well. Amane put her bag on the dining table and sat next to Mana.

"Are they all real?"

"See those figurines over there?" She pointed at the shelves next to the big TV. Amane nodded. "Those are real. Rest of is decoration and stuff."

Amane nodded in understanding. "So when are Kisara and Tea going to arrive?" She checked her watch. She wasn't early or anything. This was the time they had decided together.

Mana sat up straight on the couch and thought loudly. "I don't know. They sometimes do that. They'll be here shortly though I'm sure." She scratched her head. Being late was their part of nature. Also, they didn't live close by like Amane did.

Amane looked at her, hesitating whether she should ask or not. "Actually, this is good. I wanted to ask you something. In private."

Mana got curious and turned her gaze to Amane. "Ask away."

"You said that you and Atem had been dating in secret for a really long time now. But it was evident that there was something going on. And even I, who met you like, a month ago, figured it out. My question is, does it matter at this point? If I got it then everybody else has probably got it too. Your 'secret' relationship is just called that because you won't talk about it. Other than that it's pretty much obvious."

Mana stared at the girl. "I guess you're true, but if everybody knows already, you don't expect us to announce anything, right? That would be awkward. Besides, it's not secret because we don't want to share this with our friends, it's a secret because we don't want my brother to know."

"Do you really think that you kept that a secret, from your own brother, for four years?"

"He would talk to me about it Amane." Mana sighed. "Look, it's easier like this. If he knows he's just going to start assuming wrong things, like Bakura does. He's going to have rules and I don't want that. He's overprotective enough as it is." She looked down for a while before starting to talk again. "Besides, it's not like you can judge me."

Amane furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not judging you. I'm just... I realized that I wanted to talk to my big brother. Part of me wants to tell him about everything, I hate doing things behind his back. But you know how he is. I guess I'm kind of scared. Of how he will react, or what he will do to me. More importantly, us."

"Amane, I understand your concerns, because Bakura _is_ known to be... well, pretty violent. But I'm sure he won't do anything to you. Yeah, maybe he'll be hurt that you lied to him, though I don't think he'll be that worked up about it. At least, to you. And you also said that your boyfriend is Bakura's best friend, am I correct? So why worry?"

Amane chuckled, though she wasn't in the mood for laughing. "No, I'm not talking about physical violence. I'm talking about the emotional stuff. He's going to turn his back on me, and won't trust my word anymore. And Marik being his best friend doesn't change anything. I saw their fights over trivial things before. I can't even imagine what they will do to each other when big brother finds out."

Amane was about to continue, but the ringtone that was coming from her phone made her get up from the couch and grab her phone, rested next to her bag. _Marik._ She answered the call.

"Good morning!" She cheered.

 _"It's past noon."_

"Since it's Saturday, I figured you would wake up late."

She heard him chuckle. " _You got me. How'd you do that?"_

"I just kind of guessed it but your voice does sound husky. I can make it out even when I can only hear it through the phone."

" _Oh, does it sound as sexy as I assume it is?"_

Amane giggled. "I can't say much since I can't hear it directly coming from you but..."

" _Hopefully, one day you will then. Tell me, wouldn't you want to wake up to this voice though?"_

Why was he like this? "Idiot. Did you call me to ask that?" She sat back next to Mana, who was watching her. She could now hear Marik as well.

" _No, just wanted to hear_ your _voice first. I'm pretty sure Ishizu will break down the door in about few minutes. It's been hours since she first came in to tell me that I should wake up."_ He yawned loudly.

"Then go and tell her that you woke up. We'll talk later. I'm busy anyway."

" _You are? What are you doing?"_

"I'm at a friend's house, you kind of interrupted it."

" _Alright, but I will call later. Miss me lots until then."_

"I will." Amane ended the call and kept staring at her phone, a smile on her lips. She _was_ going to miss him.

"Amane." Mana said with a flat voice. She was looking at the phone as well, without any emotion showing on her face.

"Yes?" _Maybe she doesn't like it when people answer their calls when they're talking._

You just said that his name is Marik, right?"

Amane nodded. "Yup."

Mana looked up to meet Amane's eyes. _The boy said 'Ishizu'. "_ Ishtar?"

"Uh...yeah. You know him? I assumed that you probably didn't, since he doesn't go to our school, so I didn't bother with a name."

Mana closed her eyes. How could she be so blind? "Oh...my...god... Yes, I know him! Ishizu and my brother have been in a relationship for years, they got engaged at the summer before. Though you probably know that."

With her wide eyes and slightly tilted head, Amane looked shocked. "I do. Marik was talking about it, but he didn't give out too much detail..." She stopped when Mana slapped her forehead.

"That was you...of course!"

"What? Who?"

"Okay, so I know Marik. I've seen him a couple of times, especially on family gatherings and such, but we're not that close. I mean, he's fun to hang out with but we never really spent time together other than that. Anyway, I remember him talking about his girlfriend. And him showing me a picture of her. That was you! But your hair was _way_ longer. I guess I couldn't make it out. It _has_ been a long time since then actually, I don't think I should be blamed for that."

Amane thought of the times when she kept her hair long. It looked good on her, but taking care of it was like a burden. "Yeah my hair used to be longer, but I like it this way too." All of a sudden she started to laugh. "Why does always these kind of things happen to me? Are there any more unknown connections I have with other people?"

However, Mana's mind was somewhere else as she thought of something and snapped her fingers. "You know Amane, this is good. Me knowing Marik." She smirked. "How much time do you get to spend with him?"

"I don't know. He visits every day, but we can't do much since big brother is with us." Amane said, now wondering the reason of Mana's smirk. She was planning something.

"Amane, I'm going to invite Marik here."

"What? No, the girls will be here any minute, are you crazy?" Amane pleaded.

"Not now, tomorrow! This way, you can come too, and you'll get to have some alone time." She giggled behind her hand when Amane's cheeks reddened. "Amane, when I say alone time, I mean away from Bakura. I'll still be probably around."

"Oh." She cleared her throat and chucled nervously. "Right. I...uh... I would like that, yes. But what about your brother?"

"He's not here until Monday, relax. So, do you want to do it?"

"Yes! Of course!" Amane quickly hugged Mana, who returned her hug. "You're doing a great favor."

Mana pulled back, her arms still around the happy girl. "I know what you're going through, this is the least I could help."

The two girls, now feeling closer than ever, smiled at each other. It was as if fate brought them together.

The doorbell rang, distracting them, and Mana got up and went to answer it. Amane could hear the door opening, and the voices of her friends.

️️️️️

"Hello Bakura! Why don't you come inside and join us?" Mana asked leaning on the door. She put on her 'Bakura's flirt' mask on, since Tea and Kisara could hear them from the living room.

"I think I'll pass this time sweetheart." Bakura smirked. Oh he was struggling with so much, just by talking to this girl in this fashion. _Whatever._ He saw Amane walking out of one of the rooms, and smile at him.

"Big brother, hi! You came over pretty fast." She quickly got closer to him and kissed his cheek. "Did you miss me that much?" She giggled when a low growl was heard from him. "Ah, before I forget, I'm coming back here tomorrow, so you better get used to it."

"Why are you coming here again?" Bakura asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mana answered. "That's a secret between us." She smiled when the boy rolled his eyes. "Just be sure to bring her here in time."

 **You know what's even worse than reading a filler? Writing a filler.**

 **Not gonna lie, I _literally_ rushed this chapter just so that I can start the next one which is going to be full of Amane and Marik fluff.**


	6. chapter 6

**This chapter took me so long to write!! Then again, it's the longest I've ever written so...**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

As the sun went down, Amane and Bakura reached their home, their shadows following behind them. Amane knocked on the door. They didn't have to wait too long, since Ryou was waiting for them already, and practically ran to the door to open it.

With a heavy sigh, Amane entered the house and kicked off her boots. This day had been tiresome. The little talk with Mana had helped of course, but when Tea and Kisara showed up Amane had to keep her mouth close about everything. Which was hard to do, since the girls kept asking if she had a boyfriend or not, and if not then they could meet her with some of the other guys they knew. The whole time Mana had tried to help Amane, distracting the girls, changing the subject and all. Needless to say it was a challenge for them both, but other than that everything was fine. Amane had enjoyed the time they had spent together.

Without a word she walked upstairs. Her plans for the rest of night were taking a nice, long shower; then getting started on her homework.

She entered her room and flung her bag on her bed, then laid next to it. Staring at the ceiling, she smiled as the thought occurred in her mind again. Was she really going to get to spend some _real, quality_ time with Marik?

She liked the thought, she always have. Hanging out with him however she liked, whenever she liked would be great. Not having to check for who is around, or anyone's listening; being able to hold his hand, hug him, kiss him all she wanted; just enjoying his company without a worry...

 _I just want to be next to him as_ his girlfriend, _not his friend's sister._

Amane looked over to her bag and reached it, pulling her phone out. She stared at the screen. Marik had called her a few minutes ago. _Speak of the devil. I guess I didn't hear it. Well it's good that I didn't. Big brother would get all noisy._ Amane called him back. He answered a few seconds later.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

" _Eh, nothing much."_ He yawned.

"But...whatever. You called me. What is it?"

" _Right, that!"_ He jumped. _"Amane, I know we settled on Sunday but I'm going to be busy tomorrow."_

She would usually question him in a situation like this, but this time it was different. "That's okay, we hadn't actually planned anything." Amane smirked. _So. Mana called you._

" _Sorry."_

"Don't worry about it. We'll hang out some other time. But do call me alright?"

" _You know I will."_ Yes, he would, Amane knew it already. Though, he won't need to call her.

"So, anyway... What did you do today?"

" _Well_ , _after waking up at 2 pm I just kind of sat on my bed and cursed myself for staying up that late. My sleeping schedule is messed up. I don't know how I will get anything done."_

"You'll be fine. Ever tried using sleeping pills before?"

" _No. I don't like taking pills, and you know that."_ Amane heard him snicker. " _Also, I had something else in mind."_

"Like what?"

" _You could sing a lullaby to me. I'm pretty sure that would work more sufficiently than any other pill."_

"I can't sing Marik, and _you_ know _that._ And I don't think you listening to me sing a lullaby with a very screeching voice through the phone will make you sleep any better."

" _Just a suggestion, geez. Though, I don't mind listening to you sing, you're overexaggerating."_

Amane was about to respond, but someone knocked on her door, making her look at that way. She lowered the phone. "Come in!"

Ryou peeked, giving her a smile. "Bakura wanted me to ask you if you can go to Mana's by yourself. He said that he could take you there again if you want."

That was a bad idea, if Marik was to arrive first then Bakura would see him, and start asking questions. "No, it's okay. I can go without him this time." She nodded.

"I'll go tell him that." And he left. Amane raised her phone back up.

"Hello?"

" _Oh, you're back. What was that?"_

"Just Ryou checking up on me. Listen, sorry to keep this short, but I need to go right now. We'll talk later?"

" _Yeah. See ya."_ He ended the call. Amane threw her phone on her bag, and got up from the bed. She picked up her bathrobe that laid on her chair, and got out of the room while whistling a song she heard earlier today, ready for the relaxing shower that awaited her.

️️️️️

Marik rang the doorbell, and waited for the girl to open the door, repeatedly tapping his foot on the ground. A slight gust of wind made his hair fall on his face and brush his nose. He waved the strand of hair off, and crossed his arms.

The door opened, and Mana greeted him. "Hey Marik!" She quickly hugged him and let him in. Marik took of his jacket and hung it on one of the hangers.

"So, what is this big thing that you have been planning for sister's birthday?" He questioned and walked right into the living room as if he owned the place. Which wouldn't be so wrong, because that was practically one of his homes. He had been here before, a lot. Mana didn't see that as weird either, and let him act like he was in his own home.

Marik sat on the couch, and waited Mana to speak. "Well, alright." She quickly jumped on the couch, sitting next to him. Keeping her gaze on her fiddling fingers, she continued. "I lied."

Mana looked up and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she watched his confused face. "Huh?"

"I didn't plan anything for Ishizu. I mean, we could also do that if you want but I called you over for something else." She giggled nervously. Mana hoped that she hadn't upset Marik. He wouldn't likely be.

"For what then?" He blinked, before his eyes widened. "Mana, you do remember that I have a girlfriend, right?" He shifted his eyes.

Mana huffed. Of course she knew that. She was doing all of this just for his girlfriend, wasn't she? "Yes, I know. Otherwise I wouldn't have got into the trouble of letting you two mingle in my own house."

Marik stared, processing her words. Did she just...?

Before he could ask what she meant, the doorbell rang. Mana got up to answer the door. What intrigued Marik was that she closed the living room's door.

Slowly he got up and stood next to the door. He heard muffled noises, and a surprised gasp from Mana. Two people tried to walk as quietly as they could but Marik still heard them. The direction of the footsteps were where the stairs were. They walked upstairs, and few seconds later, a door was closed.

Before getting caught, Marik returned to his place. A moment later Mana came back, again, closing the door behind her. "Sorry."

"Who was that?" Marik asked, wanting to make sure everything was okay. He was kind of like a brother to her, so it only made sense.

"Uhm... Not someone you were expecting." She brushed it off and sat back next to him.

Marik sat up straight and fully turned to her. "Okay, will you please tell me why am I here, because I'm really confused."

Mana smiled sheepishly, and scratched the back og her head. "Well, you see..." The sound of her phone ringing made her stop, and reach for it in her pocket. She looked at the screen, then answered it. Marik was getting tired of these interruptions.

"Hello? What is it Bakura?" Hearing his friend's name made him look at her with a raised eyebrow. _Do they know each other? Maybe it's someone else. Then again, there aren't many people with that name. And they do go to the same school._ "...Alright. I'll tell her."

Mana ended the phone call and put her phone back in her pocket. "That was my friend, Bakura. He was checking up on our surprise guest."

With narrowed eyes Marik peered down on Mana. What was going on, he had no idea. He was here because of one of Mana's plans that turned out to be a lie, there was someone else in this house with them, Mana had been talking about his girlfriend and him being together and also Bakura had ca-

Bakura. Bakura who went to the same school with Mana. Bakura was calling to check up on someone. Someone Mana apparently also knew.

"Mana...?" He started.

"Yes, it's the Bakura you know." Mana smirked, realizing that he has got it. She got up and ignored Marik's murmurs. She opened the door and went upstairs, leaving Marik alone with his thoughts. In his mind he had figured it out, but that becoming a reality was low.

He put his elbows on his knees, and rested his head on his clasped hands, focusing his eyes on the floor.

The low sound of the door opening was heard, but he didn't turn around to look. Though, his eyes widened, and he straightened up.

 _She's here._ He knew she was, feeling the rush in his heart whenever she was around. He didn't even had to look to see that she was staring at the back of his head, probably smiling like a goof. But that didn't change the fact that he wanted to see it.

He turned around in his place, seeing the girl standing in the doorway. She looked amused, covering her mouth with her hand to muffle her chuckles.

"Hi..." He managed to say with a smile slowly growing on his face. Getting an extra push from the couch, he stood up and walked to her. "What are you doing here?" Marik got closer to her, and put her hands on her waist, holding her gently.

"'Welcome.' would be better, but I'll let that one slide." Amane started to play around with the collar of his shirt, then brought him closer by tugging at it. She put a small kiss on his smiling lips, and pulled back only a little, so he can see her smile as well.

"Welcome Ami." Marik said with a smirk. Getting an approval from Amane, when she snaked her arms around his neck, Marik dipped his head to kiss her again. He smiled into the kiss when he felt her shudder. He knew what she was feeling. This was one of their first descent kiss in a long time. They had been waiting for this opportunity for so long now.

Marik wrapped his arms around Amane and pulled her closer, if possible. Oh, how he missed having her this close. Holding her small body in his arms, being entranced by her rosy scent, kissing her soft lips...

He felt her slowly moving her head away, possibly from the need of air. They parted, and Amane tried to look anywhere else but Marik. She always did that, shying away. Marik had always found that extremely cute. Watching her red face never failed to amuse him.

Amane dropped her head on Marik's shoulder and hugged him tight. "I really, _really_ missed you." She moved her face to finally look at him. "Missed this."

Marik smiled widely, and nuzzled her hair. "Me too."

They had no intentions to back away, or to let go of each other. How long has it been since he held her like this? Without keeping an eye open so they could part before someone else saw them? Burying his face in her neck and taking in her sweet scent, feeling comfortable, safe in her arms?

The thought warmed him, and he tightened his hold on her, wishing he could keep her there forever. He kissed her head. "Marik...you're...I can't...breath..."

"I don't care." he said, squeezing her with his arms, his content smile turning into a playful grin.

Amane sighed and lightly hit his back. "Stop it! Marik..." she mumbled into his collar. When she stopped struggling, Marik released her. Holding her hand he led her into the room.

"I'm guessing you know Mana from school?" He sat down, yanking Amane down to sit with him. There were no other explanations he could come up with.

"Yep. I met her and the others when Ryou and big brother introduced them to me. They're really nice people, all of them. They've been accepting and friendly." She smiled, letting him know she was doing good at the new school.

"Oh, I see how it is..." Marik put his hand over his heart, pretending to be hurt. "Your new friends made you forget about us. Well, no escaping reality I guess..."

His little act though fake, got to Amane. She wasn't comparing them or anything! "No! I miss you guys a lot, don't you know? If the choice was mine I would return to our school right this minute." She put her free hand on his shoulder, leaning closer.

With a chuckle he leaned his head to hers, bumping them lightly. "I wish. We were so comfortable last year, weren't we?"

Amane thought about the times they spent together at school. Without Ryou or Bakura around, they were free to do whatever they wanted. Of course, still being careful around the brothers' friends. They would go to school together when Marik would come to pick her up, because Domino High School started much earlier in the day so nobody would be home but Amane. They would sit and eat together at breaks. And sometimes, when they wanted to be alone, they would go to one of the art rooms or science labs that were never used.

"We were." said Amane shortly. She was still in her memories. Marik would always wait for her to get ready in the mornings. On the way Amane would sing, and Marik would hum the tune. At school they were at different grades, but they found each other at brakes, not wasting any of the time they had together. At lunch they would eat together, Marik forcing food into Amane's mouth because she would eat so little. He would scold her for having such a bad habit of not eating enough. On their way back, Marik would _always_ kiss her cheek before around the corner, after making sure nobody saw him. Walking home with her wasn't a problem, he knew Bakura would only see it as a brotherly gesture.

Marik leaned back on the couch, pulling the girl with him, her head rested on his chest. Amane snapped out of her thoughts, and settled on to listen to his heartbeat. She smiled when he started to run his fingers through her hair, making her relax.

️️️️️

"Hey guys, should I order out or- whoops, sorry!" Mana squeaked and turned around after seeing the couple tangled in the most uncomfortable position but still making out as if everything was just right. Maybe they were focusing so hard on each other they weren't even realizing themselves. Mana assumed that was the case.

She remembered her own lover boy and how she would feel numb all over, though that might be something different.

The couple parted when Mana quickly looked away, and they shared a glance. Amane moved away from her place where she was pressed up against Marik and sat up straight. "Uh...food?" She looked out of breath, and kept looking down trying to make the redness go away.

Marik chuckled and reached a hand to fix Amane's fluffy hair. "Yes, food."

Mana walked inside, shaking her head. "I should've knocked." she sighed and smiled. "Anyway, I was feeling hungry and if you guys are too we can get something."

Waving off Marik's hand, Amane pouted and ignored what Mana just said. "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't like it when you touch my hair?"

"You don't say anything to Bakura when he does it." Marik smirked and brought his face closer to hers for a second. "And you seemed to like it just now."

Amane looked away, blushing. "I only like it when big brother does it." She had decided to ignore his last comment.

The two turned their heads when Mana as she cleared her throat to have attention. Once she had their eyes on her, she continued. "As I was saying, do you guys want to order out, or eat whatever we have in the kitchen?"

Amane shrugged, and looked at Marik. "You can decide, I'm good right now." But Marik didn't let her off the hook.

"No, you're going to eat with us. I'll feed you myself if I have to." He pinched her cheeks. "You know I'll do it."

The girl sighed and leaned away. "Fine, maybe I'll snack on something, I don't know. But I don't want you to pay for anything right now. We can prepare something here." She stood up and walked towards the door. "Show me around the kitchen?"

The trio got into the kitchen and looked around for anything edible. They finally decided on grilled cheese, and tomato soup. The combination that all of them liked, and found to be easy to make.

After making the food they set the table and sat down for their very luxurious lunch. "You know, there's half a chocolate cake in the fridge, from yesterday. Those cute little ones for two people." said Mana, dipping her toast in the soup.

"But when I asked you for something sweet you said you didn't have anything!" Amane furrowed her eyebrows. She hardly ever asked anything to eat and when she did she was lied to.

"Well I...I got it after you left." Mana gave Amane a look. Amane blinked, and gaped. _Oh...so he was here yesterday too. Mana you little..._ She giggled. But her amusement didn't last long when Marik nudged her with his elbow.

"You're being distracted. Drink your soup." he said, and shoved the rest of the toast in his mouth. Amane rolled her eyes and dipped her toast in the soup. After a couple of bites she started feel full. To her luck, her phone rang from the other room so she didn't have to force herself more.

"I'll be right back!" Amane jumped and ran to the living room. She found her phone and accepted the call. "Hi, big brother!"

 _"Amane, you should start coming back now."_

"What? Why? It's only..." she looked at the clock on her phone, "...1 o'clock. Don't you think it's a bit early?"

" _How early can you be here?"_ He asked, clearly impatient.

"I don't know. We were having lunch actually. I'll uh...I'll come back once I finish it, alright?"

" _Try to be here before 4."_ Bakura said and hung up the phone. Amane stared at the screen and wondered why her brother suddenly called her over. _Well at least he gave me more time than I expected._

She went back to the kitchen and sat down on her chair. "That was big brother. He told me to be back home around 4 o'clock." said Amane.

"That's okay, you still have plenty of time." Mana said and slurped her soup.

Marik tried to get the last of his soup into the spoon, nodding. "We will go together." Once he finished he got up and put the dishes in the sink. Mana nudged him and gave hers to him as well.

"Well, I'm going back upstairs. You guys do whatever you want to do." Mana grinned and glanced at Amane. "Or continue what I intruded upon, it's up to you." She stood up and left the kitchen giggling.

Amane rolled her eyes, and looked up to Marik who came next to her, and leaned in to kiss her head. He sat next to her and got a spoonful of soup. "Say 'ah'..." He held out the spoon to her mouth. Amane held her hand to her chin to prevent food spilling on her clothes.

"This is not as romantic as I thought it would be." Marik confessed. Amane wiped her mouth with a washcloth, and smiled.

"I'm really done. I wasn't even hungry, and look how much I've eaten." She stood up and put her hands on Marik's shoulders. He looked at Amane, pouting as he brought the last piece of her grilled cheese to her mouth. "Fine..."

She ate the rest of the toast, leaning away from Marik so he wouldn't force her anymore food. Marik at least had a content look on his face, meaning he would let her leave the rest of her lunch.

Amane ran back to the living room and threw herself on the couch. Her boyfriend followed, and lifted her head up so he could sit under it. He put her head back on his legs, pinched her cheeks. "What do you wanna do now?"

The girl seemed to think for a while, wiggling her legs as she did. "Let's watch a really sappy movie!"

She beamed, looking up at Marik. She loved criticizing bad movies.

"If that's what you want..." Marik picked up the remote for the TV and started to look through the movies that unintentionally sucked. Eventually, they found a movie about a couple in a love-hate relationship forcibly getting married. And Amane couldn't stop giggling, as the lead characters reminded her of Mana and Atem.

️️️️️

Mana gave Amane and Marik their jackets and opened the front door. "You're welcome."

Marik raised an eyebrow as he held Amane's jacket open so she could wear it. "What?"

"You're welcome. I mean, I let you use my house so you could meet up, right? I could've invited my boy over for the whole day instead."

Amane zipped up her jacket and held Mana's hand. "Yes yes yes! Mana, thank you again, I had a lot of fun here today. You gave me the chance to finally spend some time with Marik. I owe you one."

Mana shook her head and smiled. "I was joking around Amane. Don't mention it. I'd be happy to have you guys here again." She lightly squeezed Amane's hand, then let it go.

Marik and Amane said their goodbyes, before leaving hand in hand. They talked about the things they did today and the things they should have done today. While they were talking, they nearly reached their houses, so Marik reluctantly let go of her hand. But remembered something that was a routine to him. He leaned closer to her and kissed her cheek.

Amane put her hand in her jacket's pocket, now feeling cold. "Old times?"

"Old times." Marik put his hands into his pockets as well, and they walked in silence until they arrived Amane's house.

 ** _Marik's POV_**

I patted Amane's shoulder in front of the front yard's gate in case someone was watching from the inside, while I said goodbye to her. Hugging her and giving her a kiss sounded better, as always, but I can't mess this up. It's for Amane. This would have to do until she's ready to confront Bakura. I wish it came sooner though.

Before I could leave, the front door of the house opened, revealing Bakura. It was a good thing that I kept my "brotherly gesture" in role.

But I couldn't bring myself to relax. Although Amane was happy to see him waiting for her at the door, I froze in place and waited for him to say something.

"Marik? What are you...?" He started but Amane cut him off.

"Big brother!" She ran to the door and hugged Bakura. "On my way here I stumbled upon Marik, we walked here together, since our paths are the same."

She looked at me and smiled in the most adorable way. I felt my heart quickening and ears going red. I prayed the gods that Bakura couldn't somehow read minds or some other creepy stuff like that.

And then I looked at Bakura, and my blood froze. I could feel my toned skin go pale.

He gave me a look, which I could swear that his eyes flashed red. In his look that lasted maybe a few seconds, I read two things.

First one was suspicion. For two seconds his brain searched for any reason that made sense for me to walk here with her. It wasn't night time. She knew her way around here. There were no alarming situations happening. Then why did I wanted to walk here with her?

The second one was the one that got me. Anger. Was he just angry because I walked her here? That couldn't be it. Why would he? It was him that wanted me to look after her at times he wasn't around.

Maybe he knew something? Maybe he knew _everything?_

His short but intense gaze didn't last long to my luck. I'm sure that he knew I saw it. He wanted me to see it. Anyone else would miss that look right away. But Bakura knows I can read him clearly. And his message is simple.

 _Don't._

Maybe he saw it as something platonic, which would be better. He could be thinking that I had tried to hit on her. Not as good as the last one, this one would end with a punishment.

Whatever it is, he is _aware_. He didn't say anything about it, probably because Amane was still there when we shared that look that lasted a second, but felt like thousands of agonizing years. Bakura can be really, _really_ intimidating.

He nodded at me as a goodbye, still glaring. I tried to keep my cool, and nodded back. I waved to Amane as if I wasn't just threatened by Bakura and took my leave, not daring to see his face.

I didn't look back, but I could feel his eyes on me.

On my way back, I was still thinking about him. If I was this affected by a look, what would I do when _he_ confronted _me?_ Assuming that he would throw our years of friendship and trust out of the window, would he force me to break up with Amane? Would he skin me alive?

I prefer being skinned alive, honestly. There is no way I'm leaving Amane. All those years of trying to win her heart are not going down the drain. I made my place in her heart fairly, and I plan on staying there. I love her. Yes, I love her. I really do.

Bakura did scare me, I can't deny that. But I won't let him deny my rights to be with the girl of my dreams either.

 **This chapter is WILD. So many time skips, and I didn't even see that pov coming. And I feel sappy myself.**


	7. chapter 7

**Me: what is drama lol**

 **Also me: *thinks of various ways to screw with my favorite character's lives***

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

* * *

Bakura closed the door of his room behind him, and slumped on his chair. One of his pens in his hand, twirling it as he stared outside the window. He raised it to his lips and started nibbling at the end of the pen. Something he did often when thoughts were clouding his mind.

 _'Walking her over here' my ass. Started to lie to me now?_ _No._ _He wouldn't..._ she _wouldn't dare. Yes, she would never. Am I not her most trusted? She comes to me. Tells me everything. Sometimes too much._

 _Even if I'm not, Ryou definitely is. Guess he's as clueless as I am._ He _would tell me in an instant._

He ran his hand through his long hair, now leaning side to side, trying to set his mind at ease. Being paranoid about something was all new to him.

 _As if I didn't have enough problems. These girls are going to be the death of me... Can't hold onto any of them._

A sudden knock on the door startled him, making him bite his lip instead of the pen. He got up from the chair, throwing the pen on the table as he mumbled curses. Though, he was glad for a second. Distracted from betraying a friend...

He swung the door open, and he was not surprised when it was Amane. _Right on cue._ He leaned on the doorway. "What is it?"

The girl raised an eyebrow and put one hand on her hip. "That's my line. What is it that you call me to come over here this early, then lock yourself in your room? We didn't even have any time to talk to each other! And Mana was pretty bummed out too. So the least you could do is telling me why."

Amane's lashing served to annoy Bakura, right after considering that she might be hiding things from him. He wasn't going to take this from her. Rolling his eyes he started to slowly close the door. "Can't _I_ have secrets as well?"

After seeing Amane's wide eyes and the horror on her face he shut the door, and locked it once again. _This..._ This just have proved his assumptions. So there _was_ something.

He could feel Amane still standing outside. Maybe she was trying to process his last remark, word by word. She wasn't waiting that response, that was for sure.

Bakura put his hand on the door, as if he was trying to reach out to his sister. The one that trusted him with everything. The one that shared everything with him. _When have you gone so far away?_

It was then and there when he decided it was time to have a talk with this little sister of his.

* * *

"Our little weekend is coming to an end." Atem put down the glasses on the table and took his place next to Mana, who immediately wrapped her arms around him. Atem did the same, never once having enough of her warmth.

She hid her face in his chest. "You smell really nice." Mana sighed and nuzzled his neck. The studs on his choker hurt her nose, so she moved to unbuckle it.

Atem chuckled and tried to keep his thoughts to himself, but teasing Mana was a full time job, even when they were alone. "Going straight for my belt? You could've at least waited for me to finish my drink Mana, I mean..."

"Shut up nerd." Mana took off his choker, and laid it somewhere on the couch next to them. Then she couldn't help but stare at his belt. Well, _belts._ She started to giggle, then those slowly turned into a fit of laughter.

Starting to feel a little uncomfortable with Mana looking directly at his crotch and laughing, Atem pouted. "What? You weren't actually planning on something like that, were you?" Mana covered her mouth with her hand and peered at Atem, throwing him _a look._

Atem jerked his head back, his eyes wide. " _Were_ you?"

"No, you idiot, I was just...I...I just noticed that you're wearing two belts." Mana said, through her giggles. "That just screams 'extra virgin'." She started to laugh her heart out. "What...What is it? Is it something like...oh god...chastity belt?"

"Mana..." Atem furrowed his eyebrows.

"Now I see why you have been _so_ surprised." Mana playfully bumped his shoulder. "I respect that. Not everyone can be that comitted." She smirked.

"Mana."

"Truly a role model."

Fed up with Mana's stupid mockings, Atem started to defend himself. "I only wear one belt. The other one holds my deck Mana."

Mana covered her mouth and looked away, embarrassed from the joke she was going to make. "Yeah no kidding." she mumbled.

"Okay." Atem got on his knees on the couch and toppled them over, trapping Mana under him. He stared at her playful eyes and lips that stretched to a big smile. "I did not come here so you could mock my style."

"That's what you get for acting like that." Mana snaked her arms around his neck and brought him closer. She smiled coyly, and was about to kiss him, but something was hurting her back. "Wait a second." She arched off the couch, her body pressing against his unintentionally but Atem decided to keep quiet this time.

Mana grabbed the choker she was laying on and threw it off the couch. Neither of them heard where it landed, the only thing they were hearing was their heartbeats as they lost themselves between each other's lips.

* * *

Her hands in the pockets of her coat, Amane walked inside the classroom with Ryou following her. As usual, they were the first ones to arrive. Amane sat her bag on her desk and turned to Ryou. "I'm going to stay here this morning, you can go if you want."

This intrigued Ryou, he had not missed the way she was acting since she came home yesterday. It seemed like she was trying to avoid Bakura. She had eaten her dinner in her room claiming she was too busy with her homework at the time. And she had stayed in there all night. When she did came out, Ryou had seen her coming downstairs but quickly ran back upstairs when she saw Bakura leaving the living room.

And now, she was saying that she didn't want to come along with him. At mornings they would have plenty of time before the lessons started so they would pass that time upstairs with Bakura, in his classroom. Again, she was running away.

"Amane..." he got closer to her desk. "Did something with Bakura happen?"

She let out a nervous laugh. _Crap! He's onto me._ "Why would you think that?"

Ryou frowned. "Come on Amane. You're obviously avoiding him. I've never seen you this nervous around him, so I want to be sure. If there's anything I can help you with..."

"No, I... I just want to rest my eyes for a bit. I couldn't get much sleep last night. You make the weirdest assumptions Ryou." Amane sat down on her chair and hid her face in her arms. "You can go."

The boy didn't move away and waited for a further explanation, clearly not buying Amane's reasoning but soon left when she said nothing. Feeling the emptiness around her, Amane raised her head and leaned back.

 _So... It's coming to an end. Goodbye personal life._

The rest of the students started to show up couple of minutes later with Ryou being the last one to finally arrive just before the first lesson started. It ended quickly, maybe it was because History was Amane's one of favorite lessons. Or maybe because despite the fact, she didn't listen to it at all, lost in her thoughts.

When the bell rang she decided it would be better if she went with Ryou this time. Or else everyone upstairs would come down here, wondering if she was okay and she didn't want that. Nevertheless, it was comforting knowing that they would do that.

Upstairs, Amane and Ryou walked towards the classrooms. The gang usually spent the breaks in front of one of the large windows in the hall; chatting and laughing. But today they weren't there.

"I guess Atem was feeling a little sick, the rest of them didn't want to leave him alone in the classroom." explained Ryou. Inside 3-A, they were the only ones who stayed, other students having left already.

Amane saw Atem first, and he looked fine. He didn't look like a sick person. There he sat at his desk, talking with Bakura about something before turning his head to her and Ryou. But he _was_ wearing a black scarf around his neck which Amane have never seen him wear, so she couldn't be sure.

Bakura was sitting onhis desk with his feet on his chair, next to him sat Mana sitting properly at her own desk. Just behind her where Atem's desk was with Joey's. Yugi and Tea were also next to them but they sat somewhere next to the windows.

"Amane, you're here! I thought you would spend the all day down there." Mana cheered, and pushed at Bakura's legs so she could sit next to her. "Come, we were just talking about how hilarious Atem could get." she giggled. Amane raised an eyebrow, what was so funny about making fun of a sick guy?

Mana squeaked as Atem kicked her chair just to scare her a bit, making her jump. "I'm sick, lay off." he said, with a low voice that sounded, again, alright.

"Yeah, as if." Mana rolled her eyes and turned around to meet his annoyed gaze. "Prude."

No one understood why she said that, it didn't make any sense in their situation. But Atem got it perfectly, being mocked by Mana all night last night. He bit his tongue, not wanting to tease Mana back like he did before, at least not when everyone was here to hear it. That was for their time alone.

Hesitantly, Amane approached the seat Mana had offered. She didn't want to make everyone suspicious by rejecting sitting next to her brother she loved with all of heart. To her surprise, it looked like Bakura was compromising. Either that, or she was imagining everything in her head, and her brother was clueless.

"Well, I think it looks alright. Though you don't look like you're sick." Amane sat on the chair and leaned over Joey's desk to reach Atem and put a hand on his forehead. "It's normal."

Atem moved his face away and looked at his fiddling fingers. He wasn't sick, he was sweating under that scarf. His shirt's collar was drenched from sweat and stuck to his skin. But he couldn't risk revealing the kiss marks _somebody_ had left when he couldn't find his choker that morning.

"Yeah, you were feeling just fine last night too. I don't get it." intervened Yugi and scratched his cheek.

"I left the window open while I was sleeping." He looked up and shifted his eyes between Amane and Yugi. "Besides, I don't have to have a fever to call myself sick; I have this really bad headache."

Mana coffed and put her head on Bakura's knee. "Still doesn't explain the scarf." She knew _damn well_ why he was wearing the thing, and took proud in it.

"It's cold!" Atem declared, ending the stupid discussion about his scarf. His eyes on Bakura's hand that toyed with Mana's hair, he leaned back. Get your hand off, he wanted to say, but who was he to tell him that? Of course, being the guy she 'couldn't stand', it would be wrong to tell her flirt off.

Why did Mahad have to be so...'overprotective'? In Mana's words, that is. Atem would have used other words to describe him.

"No...no, I agree with Mana on this one." Joey snickered. He had his legs crossed on the desk, and arms behind his head. "You can't stand showing any skin, that's how bad it is. Hell, you wear boots in the middle of the summer!"

Both of them laughed and Mana made a face, lifting her head up. "Oh, Atem! Your ankles...so alluring...must protect from other people's eyes..." She batted her eyelashes and played with her hair.

Atem frowned. "I'll wear whatever I want! And why do you care anyway? Don't you have other things to do, like being latched onto Bakura?"

Mana jutted out her bottom lip, and put her head back down. "You're just breaking my heart at this point." She closed her eyes as Bakura's hand find its way up her hair again. "Bakura would never."

 _Well, I forced her this time, so can't say much..._ Atem thought and looked outside through the windows, his legs and arms crossed. If his face wasn't so stern he would look like a five year old who got mad because he couldn't have a cookie for dinner.

Amane smiled at their banter. Last week today, they had had an argument about who was taller. Mana was sure that she was, but since none of them have ever seen him without his boots it was Atem who looked taller. Though he had denied the fact his boots were the reason, it was Mana who was short. They were at it for all day, Mana trying to prove him wrong; at one point daring him to take his shoes off.

Now, it was fun to watch them argue, knowing actually thay don't mean the things they say to each other and that's how they like to communicate. And don't they say a little bit argument is healthy in a relationship? Maybe they liked it more than a little bit.

The rest of the break went by faster, and soon Amane and Ryou had to go back to their own classroom. After saying their goodbyes, they strolled down the hall, other students returning to their own as well.

* * *

Amane watched her big brother eat his lunch with one eye on the door. The group had decided to have their lunch outside, to enjoy the last days of the good weather like this one, and two specific person took their time to join them.

He was so tense. Amane could see the nervousness in his eyes, but couldn't understand why. She was about to ask him what was going on, but a sudden scream full of frustration distracted her.

"Uh, why can't you just leave me alone?"

Everyone turned their heads to the entrance, where Mana furiously walked towards their friends, her hair flipping side to side as she moved; and a very confused Atem stood, watching her.

The girl slammed her food on the table and sat next to Bakura who was giving her a side glance. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. When she opened her eyes she saw Atem sit in front of her, next to Amane.

"Yes, please sit right next to me while I just told you to do the opposite." Mana rolled her eyes.

"It's not _your_ table Mana. There are no other seats anyway." He narrowed his eyes at her. "The world doesn't revolve around you, by the way. Maybe I just wanted to sit with Amane?"

"Right, I'm sure she would _love_ your company." said Mana, before being serious and turning to Amane. "Really though, if he bothers you just tell me."

"Why would I- you think everybody is just like you. I would treat a lady like she deserves." Atem defended himself.

"Guys?" Amane cut in and Mana had to refrain herself from telling the girl off. "Please, not at the table?"

Atem sighed and leaned back. "Sure thing. You can keep screaming with your screeching voice if you'd like dear Mana."

Mana rolled her eyes again. She loved him all the same but sometimes he went too far. Made it harder to keep those fights as a fake. "Whatever."

For the next few minutes they were all silent. The other end of the table was having their usual antics, while the one Amane was sitting at was so... cold. Atem was keeping his eyes on his food while Mana watched him. Next to her Bakura was staring at her nails tap against the table. The sound was about to drive Amane mad. Before she could say anything about it, his brother spoke.

"You should cut your nails. I don't want scratch marks on my back."

Amane's eyes bulged. _Such a bold thing to say! And in front of everyone! In front of her boyfriend too! Big brother, what are you doing?_

Atem was also speechless; the only thing he could do was to glare at him, not daring to speak. He quickly glanced at Mana. She was blinking with wide eyes, a blush prominent on her face. She let out an awkward chuckle, but didn't say anything in response.

Amane continued the eat her lunch, once again in a daze. _That was so..._ Bakura and Mana flirting out in the open wasn't a new thing. And if you asked Amane a week ago she would have said that she was almost certain they liked each other and were going to date at some point. Now she knew that wasn't probable, it felt weird seeing them like this. She personally wouldn't do something like that herself. Because Atem seemed to be uncomfortable with his situation. She could almost feel his uneasiness.

Amane wondered if this was something that _both_ of them had wanted.


	8. chapter 8

**I pity older brothers.**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

* * *

Mana jumped next to Mahad on the couch and put her head on his shoulder. "So tell me, how were they?"

"Well, mom was feeling a little under the weather when I arrived, but other than that they were fine. They miss you a lot though." Mahad said, yawning. His flight had been a long one, and if it wasn't for Mana he would have been asleep already.

Mana sighed and lifted her head. "I miss mom and dad too. They're still coming back at the end of the summer right?" she asked frowning.

"Yes." Mahad looked at his sister's sad face and sighed. "Look, if you don't cause me trouble until then, I can take you there at spring break. Would you like that?"

Mana's face lit up. "Yes! I'll behave, I promise!" She hugged him close. "Thank you, thank you, _thank you_ so much!"

With a low chuckle, Mahad grabbed the girl's arm and released himself from her grip. "Why don't you show me how grateful you are by bringing me a glass of water?"

The brunette pulled back and pouted. "Wait... This is not how it's going to be all the time right?" she asked while standing up. She didn't wait for a response and left for the kitchen.

While he was alone in the living room, Mahad looked around the room from where he was sitting. Everything looked in order. He knew Mana had called some of her girl friends over, and was pleased to know they were tidy. The house looked mostly the same. Mana's laptop and its accessories were around, and some other stuff that she should have taken back to her room but that wasn't a big deal.

Mana came in with a glass full of water in her hand, and gave it to Mahad. "Here you go." She grabbed the remote. "Wanna watch a movie?" said Mana and threw the remote in the air, making it flip. But it slipped through her hands, and fell on the floor with a thud. Its batteries fell out of it and rolled under the couch.

"Mana... I told you not to do that over a dozen times now. You're seriously going to brake something one day and I will be the one that has to explain it." Mahad sighed and kneeled down to reach the batteries. While his hand searched for them, he touched something else, and he grabbed it. "What is this?" He pulled his hand back, holding...

Mana breathed in.

A choker.

A studded, leather choker.

Mana breathed out.

"That slob. Why did I ever let him in I don't even know." She played it cool, and sat next to Mahad.

"I thought he had sweared to never come here as long as you're still here." he said, observing Atem's signature accessory.

Mana smiled sheepishly. "It's your fault, trusting his word." She took the choker from her brother's hand. _So it was under the couch all this time. I could've sworn I looked under there yesterday._

"Why didn't you tell me there were going to be guys here?" Mahad made her look at him.

Trying to avert her eyes, Mana spoke. "Well I... He didn't stay that long."

Mahad raised an eyebrow. "Why did he come here?"

"He said he came for you, but you were-"

"No he didn't Mana, I told him I would be abroad this weekend." Mana looked down. "Why did he come here?"

With her now sweaty hands, Mana pushed her hair off her shoulders, and met his eyes. "I know that we're not the best of friends to each other but we're still friends. Me and Atem. We... hang out sometimes." She let a small smile form on her lips and looked at Atem's choker. "He's less of a jerk when we're alone."

Mahad looked at the choker in Mana's hands for what it felt like an eternity. "How much different is he when you're alone?" he asked without looking up.

They were both looking at the choker. Mahad glanced at Mana, who's face expression was soft. She was looking at the thing in her hands almost lovingly. He rested his back on the couch and sighed. "I expected this."

With wide eyes Mana locked eyes with Mahad. "What?"

Mahad smiled and put his hand on Mana's shoulder. "Mana, I've known you and Atem since you were little kids. I practically raised you. And as you know as a child Atem never left my side. It was when you entered that 'we hate each other so much' phase I figured something was going on."

This shocked the girl. _Amane was right._ "Are you angry?" asked Mana hesitantly.

"Do I _sound_ angry?" Mahad answered. "I guess I'm just disappointed that you chose not to share this with me."

"How could I? I was scared that you would start lecturing me about the choices I make, nag about how I shouldn't distract myself with relationships that would last a month and wouldn't let me see Atem. Not seeing him also means not seeing my friends, I just didn't want that."

Mahad nodded. "If it had been someone else I would have, yes. But you sound like you don't know me at all. It's Atem we're talking about. He's one of my most trusted friends. I know his family, his friends, where he came from, what he would do in any given situation and most importantly, I know him. " He took the choker back. "I trust him with everything. And I trust him with you too."

Mana blinked and her lip twitched. "So, you knew?"

"Yes."

"This whole time?"

"Most of it."

"And...you're okay with it?"

"As long as you don't sneak behind my back anymore." Mahad raised the choker to her eye level. "What is this doing here?"

In seconds Mana's whole face flushed. "I... We don't... I swear to God we didn't do anything we were just hanging out and he said the leather strained his skin I swear please don't kill me!" Mana jumped off the couch and swiped the choker from his hands. "I'll call him over tomorrow!" She left the room in a haste.

Mahad shook his head as he watched the young girl jump around. _Youth._

* * *

When the nighttime arrived, Amane's tired muscles were begging for some rest. It had been a long day, once again. Between Atem and Mana's fights and the never ending glaring contests between Atem and Bakura had worn her out. Nothing made sense anymore.

She stood up from her desk and stretched. Her bed was calling for her.

But before she could even move from her place, someone knocked on her door. The door opened with a creek, making Amane shiver. She could see Bakura standing on the other side of the doorway. More of him was revealed to her by the second. He looked at her with cold eyes and frowned.

"Amane." He closed the door and walked to the bed to sit on it. Once there, he waited for Amane to sit next to him. She needed to be sitting for what she was going to hear a few minutes later. "I..."

 _I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm so dead._ "What is it?" Amane dared to ask.

"I wasn't honest with you." the older revealed. "Hiding things was never my intention."

Amane blinked and stared at her brother. Never before had he came to her like this. It didn't sound like him. It didn't look like him. Elbows propped on knees, head down. _What on earth happened to him?_

"What... are you talking about?"

"Is this why you're also doing things behind my back?" He raised his head and his eyes that were hidden by his white locks found hers.

Amane leaned back. "I..."

"Give me your phone." Bakura cut in, not giving her a chance to speak. He sat up straight, and waited Amane to reach and get her phone. She wasn't comfortable with him going through her things but it was safe for now. Everything was deleted, and Marik knew not to text her anything suspicious so Amane was fine with it.

To her luck, Bakura didn't looked through anything; but he went straight to her contacts. To her shock, he found Marik right away, and called him. "I'm not here." he said as it ringed, and put it on speaker.

Amane pressed her lips together and gulped. She was hoping that Marik wouldn't say anything suggestive.

" _What's up?"_ Marik answered after a few seconds.

With a hesitant voice, Amane spoke. "Hey, Marik."

" _Uh... hey? What happened, I thought you weren't going to call tonight?"_

Bakura breathed in and shifted in his place, alerting Amane. She sighed. "Yes, well, um... I thought... uh... why not, you know?"

" _Okay... Not that I'm complaining. I'm always up to talking with you. What were you doing?"_ His voice came cheerful. Amane eyed Bakura again. His eyes were fixated on the screen, not blinking.

"I just finished my homework actually. I was going to head to bed, but... I called you instead. Yeah."

" _Want me to sing you a lullaby? I know plenty, Ishizu used to sing me a lot."_

Amane let herself smile. One time that he _did_ sing her a lullaby through the phone she had sleeped like a baby, so she wouldn't mind if he sang again. But the timing wasn't right. "No, I'm good."

" _Your loss. Hey uh... Why does my voice echo? Is the speaker on?"_

Yes. Why, does it annoy you?"

"It does _. And also, you know... Wouldn't someone hear me? You know how silent Ryou is, he might even be in the room with you and you would have no idea! Check your surroundings!"_

Amane would have laughed to his silly mockings if it weren't for her big brother _actually_ sitting with him. "It's... fine. He's not here. But you're right. He is silent. So you should talk carefully." She hoped that Marik would understand her warning. But it looked like Bakura had gotten it too.

" _Smart. Oh, I almost forgot! Something happened today."_

What is it?" Amane tried her best to keep a natural sounding voice.

" _Remember the girl with the long black hair and brown eyes?_ _The one who was always around us last year for some reason?"_

Amane cringed and rolled her eyes. _That girl_. _Some reason._ Marik was either oblivious, or was not interested but that girl had been always around them because of him. The girl would hit on Marik, follow him anywhere, and suddenly appear out of nowhere when they thought they had ditched her. Of course, Amane would have to stay silent, blaming the girl for trying to talk to a guy she thought was single had been wrong. But at least Amane was _with_ Marik last year, _and_ could keep an eye on him.

Amane trusted Marik, but she didn't trust those girls, ready to snatch a guy the second he was single. And Marik was _known_ to be single, so there was nothing to stop them.

"I remember her. What was her name... Sara?"

" _Yep. Okay, so... There's something I didn't tell you. Because I didn't want you to get worked up about things. She has been... around me. We talk sometimes._ _I thought we were having a good friendship."_

Amane nodded her head. "Go on." She didn't like where this was going. Marik did have girl friends, some Amane liked, and some she didn't like. But this girl in particular was one of the blood suckers Amane tried to protect Marik from.

" _I found a note in my bag a few hours ago. It's kind of like... a poem, I guess? Coming from Sara. I think it's a confession letter, but I don't know what to do about it."_

Amane's eyes widened and she pouted. _I knew it!_ The sneaky girl tried to befriend him, then lure him into her trap! What he needed to do was to tell her off, and that he is _taken._

But, how to tell him that? From the start their conversation had been friendly, like how they would talk with other people around. And a guy asking a girl about relationship advice was nothing new, so Amane was conflicted. _If I tell him to_ obviously _reject the girl big brother is going to be ticked off, for sure. But if I tell him to go for it then Marik is going to be ticked off, and start asking me why would I tell him something like that when I'm with him. He doesn't know I'm not alone._

 _"Ami?"_

Amane blinked and shook her head. "What?"

" _What do you want me to do?"_

Amane smacked her head. _Why couldn't he just reject the girl and tell me about it later?_ Now she had to respond.

Bakura snapped his fingers, making the girl look at him. He raised the phone and gestured her to answer.

"Uh. Tell her you're happy with what you have as friends, and that you don't want to ruin it by starting a relationship." Amane and Bakura shared a look. "That is, if that's what you want." she quickly added.

" _If that's what I want? Why would I want otherwise?"_

Amane closed her eyes. _Of course you're going there, why wouldn't you? You're just going to force me into revealing everything aren't you? "_ I don't know."

" _Are you doubting me? I'm hurt Amane."_

No, not like... I don't have... God..." She hid her face in her hands.

" _Relax Ami, I know you don't. It sounded strange is all. I'm obviously going to turn her down. I just wanted to let you know, and get your advice too. I don't want to break any hearts."_

A low chuckle that came from Bakura made Amane look up.

 _"Amane?"_

The boy who had been listening to their conversation had finally decided to speak up. "You don't want to break any hearts, is that it?"

It took Marik some time to response. " _Bakura..."_

The big brother ended the call and tossed the phone on the bed. "So." He sat with one foot on the ground, the other folded, and he turned to face Amane.

Amane met his eyes and straightened her back. "Big brother, okay, hear me out first."

Bakura tilted his head. He was waiting for her to speak, but Amane knew it was just to make her think she was off the hook.

"I..." she started. There was actually not a single thing she could say to defend herself with.

"Since when?" he asked. Amane didn't break the eye contact, because it was important that at least right now, he knew she wasn't lying anymore.

"A little over... two... years, I think." she trailed off. It was like saying 'Hey, I lied you for two years straight! Don't you feel like an utter fool?' Amane felt awful.

"Around the time I transferred to a different school." Bakura smirked. "Aren't you clever..."

Amane frowned. "No, that was when... we started to talk about... how would it be if we were... more... than friends." Everything she said was making her stomach churn.

"Uh huh."

"Look-" she started again, but Bakura cut her off again.

"He just said it himself. Who knows what else he's hiding from you, because he doesn't want to deal with your drama?" His narrow eyes gave her no escape.

"He does not hide things from me." Amane folded her arms. "He just told me what happened, and asked _me_ what to do."

Bakura sighed and shook his head. "Why did you do it?" he asked with a lower voice.

Lowering her head, Amane's body relaxed a bit once she heard his voice had gone softer. "Would you give us permission?"

"Absolutely not." Bakura answered without hesitating. Seeing the girl's body movement, he continued. "You deserve better."

The girl's head immediately shot up. "I don't want better. I want someone who truly loves me. You don't know big brother. This whole thing was my idea, it was what I wanted. Marik was so down to tell you from the beginning. But he stayed quiet, for my sake; knowing that he would have to be cross with you."

"He is scared, Amane. That's not what you do when you love someone. He was supposed to tell you that doing something behind my back was a wrong idea, come straight to me like a man and told me he loved you. You deserve someone who can actually face me to get to you."

Amane didn't know how to respond. "Would you have accepted it if he had done that?"

"He didn't. And that's what matters to me."

Amane bowed her head again. "What's going to happen now?"

"I don't trust Marik on this. He started out wrong." Bakura sighed and turned his head. "But I trust _you_."

Once again, Amane raised her head and looked at her brother with eyes that were shining with hope. "You do?"

"I do. I thought you how to make the right choices when it comes to boys, so I know you won't disappoint me." He grinned and looked back at Amane. "Besides, Marik knows what would eventually happen to him if he misbehaves."

Amane's eyes bulged out of its sockets. Was her big brother... giving them his blessing?

"Big brother... are you serious?" She scooted closer to him and leaned in.

Bakura reached a hand to her head and started stroking Amane's soft white hair. "I don't want you to experience a heart break. It's... not like how you see in movies. It's not something you can cure with a bowl of ice cream. And it's not something you can forget easily. I don't want you to go through that." He gently pressed her head on his shoulder, and with his other arm he embraced her. "I don't want to see you in here crying. I don't want to see you depressed because of some guy."

Amane hugged her brother. Listening to Bakura talk about these things was new, but she wasn't complaining. "I love you."

In response, he lowly hummed. After a few minutes they parted, and Bakura stood up. "Marik however will have to try harder if he wants me to not intervene. He's coming tomorrow. We will talk then."

Amane looked at her brother's back as he left.

 _Wait. Did that really happen? I'm not dreaming am I?_

Amane quickly pinched herself on the arms, and winced at the pain. "It did!"


	9. chapter 9

**What even is this chapter?**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

He shifted in the bed, uncomfortable. Something was tickling his nose. He tried to turn to his right, but a weight on his left arm prevented him from doing so. Someone's arm went across his torso, and hugged him tight.

"Stop moving." she whispered softly.

Bakura's eyes slowly opened and he frowned, seeing the sunshine coming in from the window. "Is it morning already?"

"Shh. I'm trying to sleep." Amane mumbled into his chest, and pressed her face harder.

As his sister nestled next to him, Bakura turned his head to see that Ryou had already woken up. His bed has been made, and he could hear the sounds coming from the kitchen downstairs.

"Is Ryou up?" he asked, watching the ceiling.

Amane mumbled something incoherent. He didn't force her to get up, instead he wrapped his arm that was not trapped under her body, and hugged her closer. Her warmth had always given him the relaxation he needed.

Just when he was about to fall asleep again, Ryou came in and huffed. "Amane, I sent you to wake him up, and you're doing this?" He pulled the thick blanket off of them and snickered when the sleepy duo hissed. "Come on, breakfast is ready!"

Eventually, with much force, Amane and Bakura were out of the bed, and ready to head out in a couple of minutes. With Ryou's pleadings they munched on the things he had prepared, and left the house.

As always, the very first break Amane and Ryou ended up in front of their brother's classroom door, and waited for the students who had other things to do to leave. And to their surprise, the lasts ones to leave were Atem and Mana. Amane was about to make a snarky comment, but the two didn't even see her, while Mana was tugging at Atem's arm pretty harshly. She was in a hurry.

"Atem! Mana! Where are you off to?" Ryou called out, making them stop and turn around. It seemed a little bit suspicious to Amane, to see them together so openly. But she decided to keep quiet when Ryou was right next to him.

"It's nothing, go inside Ryou!" Mana called back, and after thinking for a few seconds, she called out to Amane. "Amane, could you please come with me?" Since Mana didn't wait for her to answer and kept walking, Amane ran after them.

Mana found the empty place next to stairs, and pulled the confused boy to a corner. She looked behind her and after seeing Amane coming Mana managed a small smile. "Sorry, it was urgent."

"What's going on?" asked Atem, and leaned his back on the wall behind him. He then turned to Amane, who also leaned one shoulder to the wall, standing next to him. "Do you know what this is about?"

The girl simply shook her head.

"Of course she doesn't! It was a surprise even for _me_! But trust me, you are not ready for this." Mana started. She pointed at Amane. "Well, _she_ is, but you are not."

"How am I- What am I ready for again?" Amane asked and tilted her head.

"You knew what was up Amane. You were right. He did know." Mana pulled out the choker from a pocket inside her coat.

Atem was dumbfounded for a moment. "Is... that my-"

"It's your choker, yes." She handed it to Atem. He grasped it lightly, now wondering what Mana meant when she said 'he'.

"Where did you find it?"

"Well, _I_ didn't." Mana looked down, and stared at her feet. "Mahad did. Under the couch."

Amethyst eyes narrowed. "Mana!" He tried to keep his voice low as much as possible. "You _said_ that you would find it before he could. What were you doing all that time?"

Surprised by Atem's sudden change of behavior, Mana frowned. "I looked everywhere, is what I did." she hissed. "It's not my fault that it ended up in such an obscure place; though I do remember checking there."

"Under the couch, Mana. The couch! Where else could it be? It's an item, not like it could grow its own feet and wander off; it had to be where you threw it away at."

"Why are you... blaming me all of a sudden? You didn't even let me finish what I have to say!" Mana protested.

Atem sighed a loud one, and rubbed his temples.

"Uh... guys?" A weak voice made the couple turn their heads to the girl next to them. "Should I- No, you know what, that's not even a question, I'm leaving."

Without waiting for them to answer, Amane hurriedly walked away, and to the classroom where her friends were.

In all honesty, that was tense. She thought that being around them for a while she would've gotten used to their fights. Or at least, arguments. But now, in comparison those fights they had in front of everybody looked so... fake. And the one they were having when they were alone looked much more real. Their face expressions and body languages... Or it just looked like a fight to Amane. She hoped it wasn't.

She walked in the classroom with a puzzled face, causing Ryou and Bakura to perk up immediately.

"What was it?" the younger brother asked, as Amane sat by her brothers.

She thought for a proper answer. "Nothing." she said shrugging when nothing came to mind.

Her lack in response alerted Bakura, and he stood up from his seat. He knew something was up when they were leaving in a rush, and when Ryou said that Amane was with them, it just proved to him that he should take a look.

He knew his friends were irrational people, and were ready to make wrong decisions.

He got closer to his sister. "Where are they?" he whispered.

"Under the staircase." Amane said, knowing that she shouldn't have said it at all. But Bakura would eventually find them if he wanted to, so it was pointless.

Bakura left quietly, and walked through the hall. He turned the corner where the stairs were, and stopped to see if he could hear them in his spot. Their voices were muffled by the noise other students were making, so he walked closer. At the bottom of the steps he could hear them better, but the two could see him easily. So he settled on sitting at the middle of the stairs; where they couldn't see him unless they looked up.

"You're overreacting, he said it was fine!"

"That's not what I'm concerned about-"

"So it doesn't mean anything that he's okay with it?"

"Mana, you're not listening to me. It's good that he didn't disapprove, but... What I wanted was to tell him ourselves. Not _him_ finding out. It feels wrong this way."

Bakura smirked at his friend's words. _So it felt right when you were banging his sister behind his back, but it's wrong when he finds out about it?_

Bakura's blood ran cold suddenly, as the thought of the same thing happening to him occured. No way he would let Marik lay a finger on Amane like that.

"Think about it," Atem continued. "Try to see the situation from Mahad's point of view. What do you think he feels about me right now?"

"I don't know- That's not important! He wasn't angry, isn't that what matters?" Mana asked, her voice getting rather shaky at the end of her question.

"I'm glad he wasn't. But, I still think it would've been better if we both had talked to him first. He would be more understanding, maybe?"

"My words are not getting through your thick skull, are they Muto? I'm telling you that he _was_. And what I wanted to talk to you about... Mahad is waiting for you to come with me after school. Are you going to?"

A pause. He was hesitating, probably.

"Sure. I'll come. I hope that he still has _some_ respect for me as a friend-"

"Oh my God, will you cut it out? He's fine with it. I... I thought this was what you wanted. What's wrong?"

 _It was_? This confused Bakura. As a big brother of a teenage girl, he was aware that not many guys liked the idea of confronting the brother when they were interested in a girl. His own best friend included.

But Atem _wanted_ to talk to Mana's brother about it?

"It was. But not like this. A proper talk is in order to earn his approval without ticking him off. Not dropping the bombshell on him when I'm not there, after finding my accessories laying around. Just think, what would happen if he had found something else?"

"Right. What would I do if he had found a pair of boxers that are not his?" Mana said with a mocking tone.

" _Mana."_ Atem warned.

Bakura's eyes widened. _Do they really...?_

"Kidding, kidding!" She giggled quietly.

"You didn't make a joke like that to Mahad, right?"

"Would it be bad if I did?"

"I wouldn't be able to look at his face!" Atem said, stating the obvious.

"It's a good thing I didn't then." declared Mana.

"Don't scare me like that." he scolded.

Bakura rested on his right arm and peeked at the couple. Mana now looked like she was back to her bubbly mood. Atem looked like he had seen better days.

"I wanted to distract you is all. Did it work?" Mana grinned.

Atem sighed. "What do you think?" He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Let's just... go. I don't want to make up more excuses as to why we were gone."

"Wait." The brunette stopped him. "Do we... tell the others or would you rather wait until tomorrow? You know, after we talked with Mahad?"

"I think it would be best to wait." Bakura watched him hold Mana's hand and pull her closer. It was a risky move if he wanted it to be hidden still. "But, lay off with the fights."

Mana nodded and pulled away to get ready to leave the corner.

Seeing that they reached a conclusion, Bakura watched them walk and pass by without noticing him. He was going to make a comment and let them know he was there, but he didn't want Amane to deal with them later.

He stayed there, thinking about his dear sister. So far he only knew that she and Marik were in some sort of a relationship for about two years, and it wasn't Marik's idea to hide it. Somehow it stressed him, when he remembered they would talk that night. In all actuality, he didn't want to sit and listen to everything they did without his knowledge, all the times they sneaked behind his back, all the things they hoped he wouldn't find out.

Even long before he had found out he knew this was something that concerned Bakura. Amane was a pretty girl, and just the thought of someone snatching her away from him, then breaking her heart made him furious. The only thing that had kept him from locking her away was the fact that Amane was more than her looks, she would always make the right choice. The best choice for herself. So what was there to be stressed about?

"Bakura?"

Brown eyes looked up to see Mana standing alone at the bottom of the stairs. Behind her the hall was empty. Had the bell rang already?

"Mana."

"What are you doing? The class started already." she asked, pointing the classroom.

"I was... sitting here." His reasoning sounded stupid, not to mention suspicious, so Bakura rolled his eyes. "Ryou was supposed to give me something before he went back downstairs but I guess he didn't see me waiting. I kinda dozed off."

"Dozed off?" Mana grinned slyly and walked up to sit next to him. "Hm, is my ever-stoic friend in love or something? Who were you thinking of, you're telling me right now!" Her eyes shining, and her feet repeatedly hitting the floor with excitement.

Bakura blinked and shoved her face away that was getting closer by the second. "What are you doing here anyway? Why aren't _you_ at class?" He was partially glad that she hadn't picked up on the fact that her and Atem were just having their private conversation next to him.

The girl pouted and shooed his hand that messed with her hair. "I said I had cramps before he could start the lesson. He let me go before I made the situation more awkward for him." She chuckled lowly.

Bakura rolled his eyes again. Typical Mana, ditching Maths yet again.

"Hey, you still didn't answer my question..." Mana sang and batted her eyelashes.

"Hm?"

"Who were you thinking of?" she tried again.

Bakura rested on his elbowsand tried not to hurt his back on the steps that digged his spine. "Unlike you and your precious boy-toy, Mana, I'm not interested in some sort of secret affair." _Though it seems to be the popular choice these days._

Mana pouted. "Ah, you're no fun. That's the thrill of it you puffball! Secret hideouts only you and she knows about, meeting undercover, having to check for people you know, and my favorite of all; kissing in a room while all of your friends are literally in the next one."

"Yes, and how did that turn out for you?" Bakura grinned.

"A noisy white headed puffball that was wandering around the house caught us on the act." Mana folded her arms. "But you were cool about it for some reason. Come to think of it, I never understood why you agreed to keep it a secret. You didn't know us that well enough then."

"Would you have preferred it if I have blabbed?" he mused.

"No!"

"Then we're good."

Mana shook her head, and looked ahead. "You're hard to predict, Bakura. I was almost certain that you would sell us out."

"Do you really think that lowly of me?" Bakura asked with fake disbelief. "Alright then, I'll make sure everyone knows of you two before the day ends, since you're going to see me as a snitch whatever I do." he said, his voice mocking her.

She managed a small smile. "Oh, that won't be needed." Her eyes met his again. "Mahad... kind of... found out, so it doesn't matter anymore."

Bakura raised an eyebrow. _Weren't they going to wait for a while?_ Then again, he already knew about it. "I see. So when are you revealing it to the others?"

"I don't know..." Mana rolled her eyes. She was already tired of Atem's shock and stress, now saying everything to Bakura felt like too much work. But... "Bakura, you have a little sister."

"That's not news."

 _I might be playing with fire here. I'm sorry Amane!_ "Okay, so... if she... and one of _your_ close friends... were dating... how would _you_ react? I'm only asking to get some help for _my_ situation, by the way. I'm not implying anything." She quickly reassured. The question was risky but it wasn't her fault that the same thing was happening to both of them.

Bakura pretended to think about it for a minute, as he tried not to show any kind of amusement on his face. _She so knows about it._ "Close friends, you say? I would probably blame him for trying to get close to Amane through me." The pout on the brunette's face made him grin. "That's me though, your brother could react different."

"He was fine with it. We're seeing him tonight." She averted her eyes. _Poor Marik._

"Then what's with the frown?"

"It's nothing. I'm just stressed because of it. But it'll be alright. That's what I tell myself." Mana scratched the back of her neck. "So uh, who's the girl?"

"What girl?" Someone who was not Bakura asked. The two turned their heads to see Atem coming towards them.

"What the..." Mana chuckled. "Are there even any students left in the classroom for that moron to teach to?"

"How did _you_ get out?" asked Bakura with a grin.

Atem just smiled at their banter -looking much more relaxed than how he was a few minutes ago- and sat one step below, facing them, after giving Mana a small kiss on the cheek.

"He let me out to look for you," Atem looked at Bakura. "but I was actually coming for _you_." Then he pointed at Mana. "You were either waiting for me in the restrooms or actually not feeling well and went to see the nurse. I heard you talking on my way there."

"I was on my way, before I found a stray kitty sitting here all alone." Mana giggled and pointed at the white haired teen sitting next to him.

The kitty silently growled, annoyed.

"Well, that's good and all but we should go back to class, now that I found him." Atem informed them, narrowing his eyes when they groaned loudly. "If a teacher comes we'll be in trouble."

"I don't wanna!" yelled the girl and stomped her foot. "Teachers won't see us anyway Atem, what do you know?" She stuck out her tongue at him, her childish side coming out front.

He simply rolled his eyes and grabbed Mana's hands to pull her up to her feet. "Come on." He let go of one of her hands. "You should come with us too Bakura. You don't want to be written as absent, right?"

"Guess not." He too stood up and followed the couple walking hand-in-hand. He stared at the back of their heads.

 _What girl?_


	10. chapter 10

**Guess who changed the categories of this story?? I really don't keep my promises.**

 **Okay, so I have to talk about a few things, I'll write them down at the end, because I'm at lost here.**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

Amane wiped her sweaty hands to her skirt and stood up hesitantly, her feet wanting to go backwards as she walked to open the door. Her heart was beating faster, and her stomach was whirring. It's nothing new, she reminded herself as her hand grabbed the door knob. He always visited them at their house, this was just like one of those days.

Except now she and Marik were going to be put on trial for doing things in secret, Bakura was going to be treated as a ticking bomb, and Ryou was going to be very confused.

 _One of those days, Amane, the usual._ She wanted to laugh out of frustration.

She reluctantly pulled the door open, and stared at Marik standing, looking shy. No one could blame the young man for wanting to go back and take shelter at his home; Bakura was known to be vicious, and how merciless he could get when confronted. But Marik trusted their years of friendship and his love for Amane, and hoped for the best outcome.

Nevertheless, he was anxious still. "Hey."

Except the message Amane had sent earlier to call him over, they hadn't talked since last night after that call. She looked down shyly. "Hi."

"How was... he? Is he calm?" Marik asked carefully, with a low voice. Bakura's voice over the phone had been unreadable.

"You know his mood swings."

Oh, he _knew_. "Wonderful."

Marik walked inside, his moves slow. He kicked off his shoes, the anxiety in him welling. The cringing feeling made him want to throw up, he was almost shaking. Bakura's presence was all over the house, putting an intense pressure on his heart.

The memories of the two them came back to him, and the things they had done in secret, the parts of them Amane and Ryou had no idea of. He wondered if others who had to face Bakura had felt this way. If he had known Marik would surely had shown mercy. The sickening tingles were all over his body, and he hated it.

"Are you okay?" Amane's hand was on his arm, giving it a gently squeeze.

Marik blinked, before nodding. "Yes." he choked out.

"Yeah, as if I would buy that." Amane scoffed. She walked past and stopped in front of him, gripping his arms. "He didn't look too mad last night, you can relax. And even if he is, calming a nerd who has slight anger issues shouldn't be that hard." said Amane and smiled softly to encourage him. If Marik walked in there looking like this Bakura would do nothing but to pity him, degrading him in the process.

But as much as Amane was right, she was also clueless to the fact that Bakura was not a nerd with anger issues, but an intelligent delinquent who was able to shatter a person's soul with a simple glare. And knowing this did no help to ease Marik's currently fragile mood.

He managed to smile for Amane's sake. "I'll trust your word Ami." He felt bad for lying to her angelic face, but there wasn't much he could say at that moment. He just knew her brother better than she did, that was all.

"There we go, smile more. If you walk with confidence it'll be easier." She gave him a kiss on the cheek for a boost, and let go. A grin formed on her face, and she started giggling. "I feel like you've come here to ask for my hand."

This time Marik showed a genuine smile, and raised his hand to cup her cheek. "Those days will come too..." _If I live long enough to see it, that is._

Feeling slightly better after the little pep-talk Amane had given, Marik sighed out and opened the door to the living room. There, Ryou was sitting uncomfortable, looking down. Bakura had prowled on the couch, his hands playing with his hair, not looking at anything in particular.

Marik coughed to make his presence known. Two sets of brown eyes found his lilac ones, but their owners' reactions were different. Ryou had decided to avert his eyes; whereas Bakura's were wide, gleaming with interest. He moved from his slumped position to sat up straight.

"Marik! Come, have a seat." he welcomed, sounding rather calm. Marik really wished he hadn't done that. Bakura was never truly calm, and this was an obvious clue to... something. Marik didn't know what tonight would bring.

 _The silence before the storm._

He willed himself to sit on the nearest arm chair, eyeing Ryou who sat right in front of him.

If Bakura wasn't, then _he_ was definitely mad. Or upset, maybe? Seeing him disheartened was unusual, but Ryou was a human, possessing the same emotions as anyone. Amane was his sister too, maybe he was not alright with the idea. There was no reason for him to not to be.

He bit his lip and scratched the back of his neck, feeling uncomfortable. Standing behind him, Amane put her hands on his shoulders for an an attempt to give him comfort.

"Ah, you're backing your _boyfriend_ up. That's adorable." Bakura complimented, already irritated that Marik was hiding behind Amane.

Catching the hint in his voice Marik patted Amane's hand as a signal for her to let go. He sighed as the warmth on his shoulders left and he watched Amane pass by him to sit next to Bakura. _God, it really does feel like I'm asking for her hand._

"I could feel your anxiety from the moment you stepped in the house. Seeing that you had no problems before, I'm surprised. Is something the matter?" Bakura asked, his face unreadable. "You can talk to me. We're best friends after all. We share everything, don't we?"

Now he was just playing with him. It was working, making Marik feel lots of things at once. Fear, shame, self-pity...

Marik kept opening and closing his mouth, his mind can't finding a reasonable response.

"Is there something you want to say?" Bakura mused again. He was enjoying watching Marik stammer in front of him. And of course, thinking of his little surprise.

Amane sighed and closed her eyes. This was stressful already. She rubbed the bridge of her nose. _Mana is going through this too tonight. I hope at least she's doing better._

️️️️️

"This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!" Mana yelled out and threw her dress on the bed. It was unbelievable, how fast everything was happening. _Fast? Yeah, try four years._

She clutched her hair and bit her lip to refrain from screaming. The whole day she was the one who was calming Atem, and now she was on the verge of a heart attack.

 _Atem_ was coming. Atem was coming for _dinner_. Atem was coming for dinner because _Mahad had invited him_. Because he _knew of them_.

Mana really needed to scream.

It felt unfair, stress just now kicking in but now she could feel what Atem had went through all day. It now made sense, she too would keep babbling about how the world was coming crushing down on them. Compared to her Atem had composure, at least.

She patted down her hair, and eyed the dresses piled up on her bed.

Right, that was another thing. Now that Mahad knew, this was going to be the first time Atem would visit as her boyfriend. It felt more real now. And Mana wanted to look pretty for this special night. She liked her dresses, but none of them seemed fit.

 _The one time I wanted to dress up_! Mana frowned, and turned to her dresser. She dug out a white, long sleeved top that fit her perfectly, as she didn't like wearing loose outfits; and a simple jean skirt. These would have to do.

While she brushed her hair the doorbell rang, and she jumped. She swung open her room's door, yelling "I'll get it!" as she ran downstairs, not giving a chance to Mahad to even walk out from his own room. The sound of her high heeled boots made a loud clanking sound that hurt her ears but she didn't care.

Despite seconds before, she breathed out and slowly opened the front door, and smiled when 'her lover boy', as she liked to call him, stood there. He looked calmer compared to morning.

"Welcome!" she cheered and opened her arms when he took a step forward to embrace her. "We've been waiting for you." she mumbled to his shoulder.

He pulled back and looked at her, his hand still on her waist. "Where's Mahad?"

"In his room, probably. Come," Mana held his hand, but he stood still.

"Wait." He revealed his other hand that he had hid behind his back, holding a single rose. "Um..." He searched for words, stuttering as if they had just started dating.

A blush, red as the rose Atem was holding, covered Mana's cheeks. "For me?"

Atem's face dropped, "No, for Mahad." he said deviously, his eyes squinted to mock her. "Who do you think it's for?" He shoved the flower to her face.

Mana gave him a long stare, before breathing in, and breathing out slowly. "And here I was, surprised that you pulled such a romantic gesture." she muttered and harshly ripped the rose from his from his grip. "Give me that."

"I'm always romantic." Atem said and walked in, his stress fleeting away. "You're just blind."

Mana rolled her eyes and closed the door, though her gaze softened again as she looked at the rose. _It's the thought that matters, doesn't it?_

She followed him to the living room, and when he sat down Mana stood behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you." she whispered as she kissed his cheek. He hummed and held her hand that still held the rose.

"You kids really can't get along for a second, can you?" Mahad's voice alerted them coming from the stairs as he walked down. He appeared at the doorway, and smiled. "Go easy on my sister now, Atem."

"Mahad, I... uh..." Atem trailed off, standing up. What he said or did right now was very important. He was careful with his moves, and the tone of his voice. He wanted Mahad to see him grown, mature. But he kept stuttering and this annoyed him.

"You're more formal than usual. Relax. I didn't invite you here to scare you off." Mahad gave him a serious but brotherly look. "We're just going to talk. Like we always do."

Atem nodded and sat down with Mana scooting next to him.

"I can assume that you're feeling nervous?" Mahad asked, and chuckled when Atem nodded again. "This is unlike you." He then turned to Mana who was much relaxed now that her boyfriend had arrived. "Mana, could you do me a favor and check the food please?"

The girl stood up grinning, she had a slight idea of why Mahad was sending her out of the room. She walked out, running to the kitchen where the beautiful smells were coming from. When she was out of sight, Mahad steadied his elbows on his knees and smiled to reassure the teenager.

"I'm not angry, if that's what you're worrying about. I... would have preferred it if you have chose to talk to me before though."

Atem shifted in his place. "I know, that's what bothers me the most. This was not how I wanted you to find out. Not after... finding my, uh... Yeah." His hand found his neck and he glided his fingers over the studs of his choker.

"Yes, that's another thing. What was your choker doing there?"

Blood rose to Atem's cheeks and ears, his eyes locked to a design on the carpet as he didn't dare to look up. "Well..." _Your baby sister yanked it off in the haste of covering my neck with hickeys, nothing new._ "I don't like wearing accessories at places I feel comfortable, as you know. This place is like a second home to me. I just... took it off. Then it went missing."

"I see."

"Yeah."

"Interesting."

"Isn't it?"

Mahad smiled. "Why don't you take it off then?"

"What now?" Atem's eyes bulged, as that would be the last thing he would want to do. Not to mention, the very last thing he could probably ever do.

"It's just us. Aren't you comfortable?" the older pressed.

"I guess... I am..." _Maybe he would believe me if I tell him I choke myself in my sleep?_

Mahad smiled, while Mana came back and plopped herself on the couch next to Atem, who was shaking. "I'm just messing with you. You're lucky I don't see Mana trying to cover up her body."

 _If I'm lucky you'll never see her topless_ , thought Atem as he smiled innocently.

Mana laughed too, though sharing glances with Atem nervously. She instinctively scratched her collarbones, covered with the material of her top.

To end the conversation as quickly as possible, Mana stood up. "Let's eat. Right now."

️

After a good dinner, Mahad had left the lovebirds to themselves to spend some time together before Atem had to leave. So they had decided to sit at the balcony, talking with their drinks in their hands.

"A new chapter in our lives, Temmy. How are you feeling?" Mana asked slurping her pink lemonade.

"Not bad. Just feels weird when I don't have to pick on you, you know?"

"Yeah, for some reason I kept catching myself almost making a nasty comment about you."

Atem sighed and met her gaze. "It's going to be difficult getting used to this. Especially at school."

She smiled at him. "No, that's the easy part, silly. First we'll stop the fights, then start interacting like normal friends. After that it'll be easier to tell them."

"Ah, you really are smart, my dear Mana."

Mana made an interested sound from the back of her throat and snuggled under his arm. "Your dear Mana, hm?"

He chuckled, and pressed his lips to her head.

️️️️️

"This is fun, we should gather like this more often." Bakura mused as he lounged on the couch, his feet propped on the coffee table.

So far they had only sat there, staring at each other's eyes, then averting them awkwardly. Ryou was still standing silent, a scowl slowly appearing on his face, getting more apparent whenever his and Marik's gazes met. Marik, on the other hand was convinced that he was mad. But not just mad, mad at _him_.

Amane was still shaking next to her brother who was enjoying himself a bit too much for her liking.

"Bakura, I... You know what, this has been going on for a long time, and I'm bored and tired." Marik stood up and met Bakura's eyes which were dull, not expecting anything interesting that would come out from his mouth. "What do you want to hear? An apology?"

Bakura pouted. "No, I've had enough of those yesterday."

"Then what _do_ you want?" Marik asked exasperated.

"Oh, well, _I_ don't want anything." Bakura shrugged, his eyes half lidded and a sly grin on his face. "But I'd say you're gonna have a hell of a hard time convincing Ryou."

"Ryou?" Lilac eyes once again found him looking away.

"See," the white haired teen chuckled and he motioned to his younger brother with his hand. "Ryou here was not fond of the idea of his sister being taken from him."

At the mention of his name Ryou stood up and left the room, Amane staring after him. Ryou being angry was a rare thing, given that he was the calm and rational one out of the three. But him being angry at Amane was new, and she couldn't stand it. After she gave him a slight information about the things that happened with Bakura, and telling him that Marik would visit he had shut himself in his room.

And now, out of his room he was still not talking to anybody, not even making eye contact and Amane wanted to scream at his face for him to say something. She had no idea he would react this way. Once in the past the thought of sharing her secret with him had passed her mind, but Amane now felt glad she hadn't done that.

Who knew he would get this upset?

"I don't understand." Marik turned to face Bakura after watching Ryou leave.

"It's simple Marik, really. I've been given an explanation, at least. And now Ryou needs one." His amused face left its place to a serious one. "Amane has two brothers, after all."

When it clicked in his mind, Marik's eyes widened. "You want me to-"

"If you have his blessing then you'll have mine." he stated, earning a groan from Amane. She knew it was impossible in his state.

"Why?" Marik asked, though getting ready to leave after the younger boy.

Bakura had his head rested on the couch, his eyes closed once more. He cracked open an eye, and grinned. "Because it's harder than it seems, and I'll trust anyone with Amane if my brother sees them fit." He waved as a signal of 'good-bye'.

Marik sighed and got going. But Bakura was right, it was harder than it seemed. Now at his door, he was pounding at the door for him to open.

"Ryou just open the door! How do you expect me to defend myself if you won't talk to me?"

The boy's voice came through the other side of the door. "Defend what?! How you lied to us? How you tricked Amane into-"

"I did not trick her into anything!" Marik yelled, before mentally slapping himself for being too loud. "I wouldn't do something like that to Amane. Ever."

A few seconds later the door swung open, and Ryou stared at him with disgust. With his narrowed eyes and piercing glare, he looked identical to his older. He stood aside to let Marik in, and slammed the door behind him.

"I only let you in because I don't want Amane to overhear us." He leaned on the door, his arms folded and head down. "She still doesn't know."

"As in...?"

"She doesn't know who you are!" snapped Ryou and glared at him. "But I do! Who do you think makes stuff up for Bakura's occasional absence around the house, or dresses his wounds when he comes late night after a fight?"

Marik dropped his gaze, realizing that he had been wrong in his guess. Ryou knew the truth.

"I didn't know you knew."

"Doesn't Odion does the same for you? You should have guessed."

The younger sighed, and sat on his bed, Marik sitting on the opposite on Bakura's. "What you do as Bakura's friend is not my business, but... I have some ideas. Like that one time when Bakura came back drunk out of his mind. Would I be wrong in my guess if I were to say that he was not alone while he was drinking?"

"That was one time!" he defended, "I remember begging on my knees to convince Odion to not tell Ishizu."

"If you did it once you might do it again. I had to go through hoops to convince my mom and Amane that it was food poisoning while he threw up all morning." Ryou glared at him, remembering the days.

"Okay, that did happen, and I understand that you have concerns. It... makes sense that you don't want your sister to be with... someone... like me." His voice died down at the end of his sentence. "But I assure you, I'm completely different when it comes to her."

"You're a two-faced liar then?"

Marik cringed and hesitantly stood up to sit next to him. "Ryou, you've known me for years now. You know how I act towards her, how I handle her. Do you really think I would do anything to hurt Amane?"

"If she knew of the things you have done she wouldn't think twice on leaving you." Ryou added coldly, not making eye contact. "I'm just staying silent for Bakura's sake."

His words stung, and Marik's eyes dropped hopelessly. "How can I prove my love for her to you Ryou?"

"I don't want you to. It's okay when you're our brother's friend but I can't accept you as my sister's boyfriend. Do you know why Bakura is not interfering? Because he's done the same things as you and knows he can't argue with you when it comes to that. But he also knows that I can. And being the responsible one out of Amane's brothers I'm not giving you the permission you want."

Glaring at each other after Ryou's answer Marik sighed out. "So it all comes to me, being a bad influence on her?"

"If you were not this guy with a hidden side then... maybe... I don't know, I don't know... For all I know you could be a member of a gang that sells drugs and abuses women."

"Ryou! Come on. You know me better than that. Alright, if it'll set your mind at ease, then fine. I'm done. This whole... 'dark' side of me is over."

"Yeah, just because you said that, it doesn't make things any better."

Marik stood up, heading for the door. "I mean it Ryou. I'll be honest with everyone in this house from now on. And I'll start with..." He opened the door and shot a glance at Ryou. "...the girl I love."

In actuality, Marik had not planned anything as such, but he was a guy of his word, and he was going to confess to Amane for a second time... this time for a different reason.

In the living room he found Amane and Bakura having their own little discussion, and he quickly interrupted it. "Uh... Amane. Bakura."

Two poufy white heads turned to him and Amane stood up immediately. "That was fast. What happened?"

Marik moved further in the room and got closer to Amane, then held her hands gently. "Ryou... doesn't trust me Amane, and if truth be told, he's right at not believing in me. Or Bakura. I can't really blame him either."

"Why wouldn't they trust you?" Amane asked jokingly, not understanding the serious face Marik was pulling.

"Because they know how messed up I am. I... may have... hidden some things from you. I'm not proud of myself for that. It's just that... uh... you're so pure and gentle I couldn't even believe that you would actually like me. I didn't want to... ruin it."

Reluctantly Amane pulled her hands to herself. "Okay, I'm at lost here. What are you talking about?"

His face cringing and hands sweating, Marik looked away and breathed in before he spilled the truth. "I smoke."

Amane's eyes went wide and she took a step back, horrified at what she was hearing. "You smoke? Marik, you know how I feel about that!"

Since the day she had been taught of the dangers of cigars and other addicting supplies Amane tried to keep the people around her toxic-free for years. And to learn that one of the closest people she had have been smoking was shocking.

"Not just that." Marik was still avoiding eye contact as he looked down. "I drink... sometimes. And I may or may not have my name known around some sketchy... street gangs... maybe."

"What..." Amane shook her head and looked at Bakura, who was looking down at her knowingly.

 _Told ya._

"...the hell are you talking about? You smoke? You drink? Don't you know where those things will get you?"

"I never said I'm proud of the things I've done, Amane. I don't like it either. It's just-"

"Addiction. It's addiction. You know it's bad for you but you can't do anything about it right?" The girl slowly backed away and fell on the couch when it hit her legs. "I cannot believe you would keep that from me."

It was mostly denying the fact that he had lied to her. Because it was _her_ Marik. He wouldn't do that. They've been honest to each other. Right?

Bakura put his hand on Amane's shoulder, whilst glaring at Marik. "This is why you should listen to your brother's advice."

"Really? Well, look where your advice got me." Marik challenged Bakura, pushing him in front of the bus.

"What? Wait. What did you just say?" Amane pried her brother's hand and turned to him. "What did he just say?"

"He doesn't know what he's talking about." Bakura comforted her, now shooting daggers at Marik.

"Bakura, what did he mean by that?"

The two guys were taken aback, now realizing the problem. Amane was addressing Bakura by his name, meaning they were screwed.

"So I may have joined Marik on his adventures." Bakura broke it down for her slowly. "I never smoked though." he added when Amane furrowed her eyebrows.

"Oh good. You didn't smoke. What a relief!" Amane snapped and she stood up to face Marik. "I can't believe you could- Since when? Just tell me, since when are you someone that I can't even recognize? Because this is not my boyfriend. This is not my childhood friend."

"I... don't know. Over..." He scratched the back of his neck, now squirming in front of her. "...three years... I think."

"Three! Three whole years! And what about drinking?" Amane whipped around and locked eyes with Bakura. "Since when do _you_ drink?"

"Hey, don't address me like I'm some problematic alcoholic. If I drink it's like... once a month. And mind you, I'm a responsible guy. I know when to stop."

His answer angered Amane more, and she snapped again. "If you were responsible, you would know that you shouldn't be drinking at _all_!" she screamed and grabbed a pillow to dig her nails in it. "You idiots know how I feel about these things and you both well know what it will do to you."

Upon all the noise, Ryou made his way over, and was greeted with a pillow thrown at his face. "What the-"

"Is there anything _you_ want to tell me Ryou?" Amane was breathing in and out very quickly, and Marik was starting to worry for her. "Are you a part of a mob, maybe?"

"No, that's Bakura's thing." Ryou answered pretty calmly, at which Bakura almost chuckled.

"Okay- Calm down Ami. Just sit down for a second." Marik tried to lead her to the couch for her to sit down but she slapped his hand away.

"Don't 'Ami' me! Don't try to sweet talk your way into forgiveness!"

Amane glared at the trio in front of her. Marik, looking very ashamed -thankfully, because Amane couldn't take deviosness-; Bakura looking surprised at the events taking place; and Ryou... Ryou was just there. She couldn't read him anymore.

"I'm going upstairs. I never imagined things would go this way tonight and... I need some thinking to do."

She turned around for the door but trembled when someone got a hold of her arm.

"Amane..." Marik's voice made her look at him, still annoyed.

"I'm not about to make a drastic decision, if that's what you were wondering. And I don't want to say something I will regret afterwards so let me go and take my frustration out of my stuff; not you."

Amane pulled her arm and left the room.

"There." Marik huffed out and turned his face to Ryou. "I did it. I told her."

Ryou scoffed at his dramatic acting. "You call that confessing? What did you even say to her?"

"I agree. You just admitted you smoke. And drink. It's nothing much, really." Bakura grinned before getting serious again. "But of course she would get mad, that's Amane. But it's not like she'll broke up with you over that. Don't make it a big deal. She'll just scream into her pillow for a few minutes and then it'll be all good. Probably."

"That is," Ryou cut him, "If I say it's okay. And it certainly is not. Amane knowing the mess you actually are doesn't change my view of things. You're still a poor example of a boyfriend and the only thing changed is that Amane is now mad at you." He shrugged, and moved sluggisly to sit next to Bakura. "Hope you're happy."

Marik's face dropped, and he... walked out. Unceremoniously, he just left. Nothing he would say would convince Ryou, Bakura was treating everything like it was a big joke, and Amane needed some time alone to clear her head. His time was done there.

This was not how it was supposed to go. In his head, even though he was skeptical, he thought he would have to talk to Bakura and explain to him how he loved Amane and how he would go to any lengths to keep her satisfied; but in reality, Bakura was not even taking it seriously.

 _Ryou is right. Bakura can't blame me for anything that I do, he's the same. If not, he's worst. He knew I would splutter the truth in front of Amane, and she would get mad him too. And that's what exactly happened. He put Ryou in charge, but nothing has changed._

Lilac eyes rolled and he sighed. _Ami is wasting her time with us idiots._

 **Alright alright alright! This took me so long because I got inspired in the middle of the chapter and wrote two one-shots... And that's the problem with me. I've been obsessed with Vaseshipping for a year now and I just started writing these things down. I have so many ideas in my head I don't even know what to do with them.**

 **So, what I wanted to talk about is... the finale of this fanfiction. When I first started this I didn't have a plan. I was just going with the flow (thus, the random boring fillers). But at this point, I know how I'm going to end it. It's not coming soon, or at least it's not within the next few chapters, probably. Think of it as an arc. The arc where the older brothers find out about the secret relationships is over, and now I'm going to start a second one where I complicate things a little bit, then finish it off for good. I already have drafts for the last chapter, so for the first time I have an action plan.**

 **And my plans for the future are...**

 **\- - drumroll please - -**

 **Before I finish this I have a one-shot planned, because I was inspired by this book I recently finished and if that was not Vaseshipping then I don't what it is.**

 **The rest of this fanfiction is planned out but I don't have a posting schedule, sorry. I'll try to update it as fast as I can though.**

 **And once this is done I can do a multi-chapter fic based on one of my one-shots, because I've been doing some thinking on that too.**

 **Okay! Thanks for reading that loooong chapter and looong author's note. Before I leave though, I'll tell you this; this second arc I'm going to write about will be mainly Vaseshipping because I just couldn't focus on it as much as I wanted to. Also, Marik is going through a hell of a hard time here and I've been going easy on Atem since day one (cough spoilers cough).**

 **Love you all, you precious and patient readers!**


	11. chapter 11

**Enjoy your last good moments Temmy.**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

"No. I don't miss him. I'm angry."

Amane furrowed her eyebrows at the mirror in front of her and scowled.

"I'm angry at him for lying to me."

 _Actually, he never said he_ wasn't _smoking..._

"I don't miss his warm hugs..."

 _Or his goofy smile... Especially when that smile turns into a smirk. That sneaky little... How dare he be so hot?_

"I don't miss how he calls me Ami..."

 _Oh how he calls for me with such love..._

"There's a special place in hell for liars."

 _Wait, wow. Slow down._

Amane shook her head. Her inner thoughts were always leading her into something wrong.

She should be feeling angry right now. And thinking of a way to get back at Marik for lying to her before she forgives him. He should be taught his lesson.

But-

 _But... you're weak. You're only making yourself feel miserable. You're desperate for his presence and he is for yours. Why torture yourself?_

"I'm a strong woman!" she yelled out, thomping her foot on the ground.

"Never said you weren't!" Bakura's voice came from down the hall, from his room.

Amane ignored him, and stared at the mirror. She had bags under her teal eyes and they looked horrible on her pale face. She really didn't want to go to school looking like this but... she was also too lazy to put on makeup. She haphazardly fixed her uniform and fled out of the room.

It had been a few days since she last talked with Marik. She was determined to avoid him for a couple of days, her mind couldn't think straight when he was around. Just when she was ready to call him and lash out at him, she would immediately soften upon seeing his photo and remember how much she missed him. She didn't like to admit it but she missed him.

And she was doing the silent treatment on Bakura, straight up not acknowledging him. She was planning to keep her act up until she received a proper apology.

She wasn't sure what was going on with Ryou, but it seemed like he wasn't as tense as before, he was talking to her again. But Amane was still watching him for any clues.

At school, she noticed that Atem and Mana had started to act different towards each other, but she couldn't ask them how their night went. They would ask her the same thing, and Amane didn't want to talk about it yet.

"Wow, talk about being antisocial."

Amane lifted her head, and saw Mana standing next to her. She hadn't even realized that she wasn't alone.

"Am not. Can't a girl just sit alone for a second?"

Mana smiled and shook her head. "Of course you can. Silence is solitude." She turned around and made herself comfortable on the chair at the opposite side of the table. "But you've been distancing yourself from us, and that's something entirely different. Is there something wrong?"

Teal eyes dropped down, and Amana cleared her throat. "Uh... No, I've been doing... fine." she reassured her older friend but it would take more effort than that to convince Mana.

"You can talk to me Amane. Maybe I'll be able to help with something." Mana reached her hand for the other girl's pale one. "It'll be between us."

Amane gripped Mana's fingers in an appreciated manner and forced a smile before looking up at her. "I... don't feel comfortable talking about it right now. I have to sort things out myself, but after that you're the first person I'll go to."

"Well, I won't push you. But I am here." In an attempt to change to subject, Mana released Amane's hand and giggled. "I almost forgot! You never asked me what happened Tuesday night."

Mana's innocent way of trying to distract Amane from the source of her down mood unfortunately backfired and Amane frowned.

"Yeah, I didn't. How'd it go?"

"Oh, it was the best, Amane! At the start it was a bit weird because Atem almost had to remove his choker, which would result in Mahad seeing the hickeys but the topic changed quickly so nothing happened. When we were having dinner, me and Temmy talked about the things we had done in secret and how hard we would try to spend some time together alone. We cracked Mahad up with our stories -which I should tell you sometime- and Mahad told us how he actually predicted this. It was just us eating and joking around and having fun! You don't how many times I've dreamed of that. And now it's real... Ah! I'm going to explode from excitement!"

Amane smiled faintly, both glad that Mana's night had went smoothly, but also jealous that her's didn't. "When are you going to tell the others?"

Mana sheepishly smiled and set her head on her hands, her elbows propped on the table. "Um... We're kind of... taking it slow. Little by little. Like, stopping the unnecessary arguments first."

"Yeah, I noticed. And I assume you're not going to flirt with big brother anymore?"

The tanned girl blinked and her face showed confusion. "Oh, I never even thought of that... But, yes. Now that you've said it, I should talk to Bakura about it. And speaking of talking to Bakura..." Mana smiled all-knowingly. "What happened with him?"

Amane sighed and looked down at her hands. "It's... the thing I don't want to talk about, actually."

Immediately the expression of worry glided over Mana's face. "Oh, is it that? What, did Bakura acted up or something? Did he say something to hurt you?" She reached for Amane again. "Or did he not approved your relationship with Marik?"

"No, uh... It's complicated. It's none of those things, he really didn't do much that night." Amane muttered. "It's something else."

"Amane, I can help you with this." She gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "If there's anything that brought us closer as friends then it's our problems with our brothers and I seriously believe no one else can help you more than I can."

Amane stared into Mana's eyes that shone with confidence, and gave in. "Big brother said that Marik should ask for Ryou's blessing, not his. And I think Ryou refused him? Because Marik came to me and said bunch of stuff that he hid from me until now. Then I realized that Ryou knew all of these, and so did big brother. But I also learned that big brother was not any better than Marik. And right now, I'm just angry at all three of them."

"Wow, okay. What did he hide from you?"

"Um... I'm not sure if I should tell you..." Amane hesitated, and gulped. "You know, you're going to be in the same family one day."

"Amane... Please? I'm really good at keeping secrets, as you well know."

When she thought about it, it made sense to Amane, so, after a long sigh, she spoke. "Marik told me he often smokes. Not to mention he and my brother's drinking problem."

Mana's mouth fell agape and her eyes widened. "They have a drinking problem?"

"It is a problem for me. And he also told me something about a gang but I didn't quite catch that so that's something I have to ask him some other time. Though I don't feel like talking to him either." Amane rolled her eyes. "He pisses me off more than anything right now."

"Wait, wait, wait. A gang, you say? That sounds more interesting than the whole drinking thing! Is Marik in a gang? Why didn't you ask him that right then and there? Oh, wouldn't it be so cool if he was?" A grin formed on Mana's face but she immediately regretted even talking at the first place.

"No. It wouldn't." spat Amane and looked away, her arms folded. "It would be dangerous."

"Okay, sorry." Mana sheepishly added, but turned serious again. "Look, there's nothing much I can say about Marik being a gang member; but this whole smoking and drinking thing... How should I say it... Marik comes from a family with strict rules, and when children with strict parents are not given what they want, it could backfire. For example, I once wondered how beer tasted myself, and asked my parents if I could just have one to taste it. Now, my parents aren't as strict as Marik's but being the responsible adults they are they didn't let me. So one day, I woke up in the middle of the night, and tip-toed my way into the kitchen, to the fridge. I was going to open a bottle and take only one gulp, really. But then Mahad caught me. I begged to him to not tell mom and dad, and explained him how I would just taste it, and put it back. He told me the same thing I just told you about strict parents, and opened a bottle for me. I was surprised that he actually didn't snitch on me and on top of that, he gave me the beer himself. Then when I actually tasted it, I realized that he already knew I wouldn't like the bitter taste. He drank the rest of it and told me not to tell to mom.

"That's one of the lessons I learned from my brother. When you strict someone from something they want, they might try the wrong way to get it. Or if you bother someone too much with something they don't want, they might rebel against you. It's simple, and it's probably the case with Marik. Maybe he had enough of his family pestering him all the time, and started to look for relief elsewhere."

"When you say it like that..." Amane admitted, "...it makes sense a little. But it's still wrong to disobey your family like that."

Mana sighed a long one. "Amane, have you ever seen Marik's parents? Because I have, and ugh... they're just so... You would almost think that Marik is right in his actions."

"There's no way I would ever think he's right about this." muttered Amane.

"Aside from everything, you do know that you can't force him to quit smoking right away, right?"

Amane humphed. "With his addiction I doubt he could."

For the second time, Mana gasped. "He's addicted?"

"I mean... He might be, I don't know."

Mana tought for a second, and observed Amane. "You see, Amane, that's the problem with not speaking to him. Whenever I ask you something you say that you don't know. Talk to Marik and give him a chance to properly explain himself. With the right information you can do your judgement better."

Amana stayed silent, and Mana continued. "As for Bakura, well... I'm not sure why he would drink but the same goes for him. You should listen to him, if you want him to understand you too."

"I'll... try to do that, okay? I need time to accept them as they are right now. Then I'll talk to them."

Mana showed her a genuine smile. "Don't worry too much, alright? All your problems will solve themselves if you just give yourself a little time. Now come, let's join the others."

The brunette yanked the girl in an attempt to distract her from her stress, causing her to stumble up from her chair. "Mana!"

Mana didn't pay no heed, and kept Amane's hand in hers as they walked.

️️️

"Checkmate."

"Ah, no fun!"

Mana pursed her lips at being defeated yet again, and rolled her eyes when Atem chuckled lowly.

"I'm not even trying Mana. Admit it, you're bad at chess." he said while gathering the board pieces. After school, he and Mana had decided to go to the Game Shop together. Mainly because since Mana's brother knew, Atem only saw it proper if his knew it too. Though they had yet to reveal to Yugi.

"Whatever. I wasn't playing to win. I'm just killing time until Yugi's shift downstairs is over."

"No doubt."

Luckily for them, Yugi came rushingin the second he was mentioned. "Atem, you'll never guess who I just talked to!"

Atem, quite startled by his brother's excitement, blinked. "Who?"

Yugi smiled broadly. "Professor Hawkins! He called in about a few minutes ago, and we started talking. Apparently he was coming to Japan for a few weeks because they invited him to give a speech at the opening of the new exhibit at the museum."

Immediately, Mana frowned. She had nothing to do with the old man, but him coming here meant that annoying little brat would be coming here too. "Why is he staying a 'few weeks' if he's just coming to give a speech?"

Contrary to Mana, Atem joined Yugi's happiness. He was fond of the guy, having great childhood experiences when he would come to visit his grandpa, often telling stories, or lecturing. Yes, lecturing. Atem had been listening to the old mans' stories for too long, never once getting tired of them. And he was a great person in general, kind and wise. Atem was glad that he would visit again.

"You're right Mana. Why isn't he staying a few _months_?"

He didn't mind the girl's groaning.

Yugi grinned, entered the room now that he had it out of his system, and sat down next to Mana. "You know, Rebecca is coming too Mana."

Mana groaned louder, and hid her face in her hands.

The two brothers smiled at her theatrical movements. They knew Rebecca was not Mana's favorite person.

Atem coughed then, reminding Mana that they had more important things to discuss, rather than being a crybaby. "Actually Yugi, you're not the only one with big news."

Mana raised her head, and gulped. "Yeah, we have some things to tell you too."

"Hm?"

A gesture that caught Yugi and Mana with a surprise, Atem reached out and held Mana's hand. It was as if her heart was pulsating in her ears. This was the fist time they would be announcing themselves to someone willingly. Not because they got caught. It was new for them.

"Yugi," Atem started, "do you know why Mana is here?"

"Because you invited her here at lunch?"

Mana giggled, and squeezed Atem's hand. He tried again. "Yes, that too, but we had something different in mind when coming here." He looked at their joined hands, and Yugi followed his gaze. A few seconds had passed when Yugi's already big eyes widened upon realizing.

"Oh." he mumbled, "I wasn't... wait. Are we all thinking the same thing? Because what I understand from this is not something a person would think about you two - if they know you that is."

"Pretty sure you got it, Yugi." Mana reassured.

"I mean, at one point I was waiting for something like this, because you know... ha-"

"Haters often turn into lovers, we know." Atem and Mana replied simultaneously, both irritated. They have never been enemies, to be fair.

"It's just so sudden." Yugi shuffled awkwardly. "So you guys are together, huh? Since when? This morning?"

 _It would make sense for him to think of that_ , Mana thought. For the first time in years their friends had seen them not screaming at each other. It was an unusual sight.

"No, it's been awhile." _A measly four years_.

Yugi stood there, handling it way better than the couple had predicted. He was surprised, but not exactly shocked, causing Atem and Mana to frustrate a little for making such a fuss over it. They had thought he would start an outrage, but Yugi was fine with it.

So for the first time, the secret couple experienced the true relief of revealing themselves to someone. And they thanked their lucky stars that Yugi was such a supportive and understanding friend.

After answering his few questions and warning him to keep the information to himself, they continued on killing time by playing more board games until it was time for Mana to go back home.

 **Fillers fillers fillers. I wonder if I'll ever like a chapter when I finish it.**


	12. chapter 12

**As promised, here it is! I'm hoping that the second half of this ff (which is full of drama) will make up for all those months you so patiently waited!**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

"Yes, they settled in. You can still come over if you want? Maybe say hello, stay for dinner? I mean you're going to meet them anyway, might as well get it over with."

 _"I told you, Atem, I'm not going near that cheeky little brat. I'll just... avoid... outside world for a couple of weeks and I'll be good."_

From the other room, someone called out his name. "Atem! Yugi's showing me his action figure collection, come join us! What are you doing? It's really rude to disappear when you're having guests, you know."

Mana groaned, _"Please, make her stop."_

"You can hear her?"

 _"Yes, and I wish I hadn't. Look, I'm hanging up now. You have fun."_

"And we'll talk later?"

 _"I'll text you if I don't fall asleep."_

"It's really hard to decipher your tone of voice over the phone so I'm not sure if you're mad or tired."

 _"I'm both. Good night."_

Before he had a chance to say anything else, Mana hung up.

Atem wasn't really worrying about how she was angry, he knew her anger was caused by a sweet blonde who for some reason Mana just couldn't get along with. And all this stress was taking a toll on her. He wished she would stop overthinking about Rebecca. As far as he knew she was a sweet girl, not to mention intelligent. She had her clingy times but Atem saw no harm in her overall.

He made his way to his brother's room where Yugi told his stories and memories of his action figurines while Rebecca eagerly listened.

"Sorry Rebecca, I was on the phone." Atem kindly said to her, and got closer to them. "Did you like the figurines?"

Rebecca smiled and grabbed the doll from Yugi's hand. "Yup, my Yugi was telling me how he got this one."

In her hands was a figure of a woman video game character. Atem had bought that for Yugi when he had lost a bet.

"I got that one for him." he pointed out. "When I lost to him at the game this character is a part of."

"Of course, I can't imagine Yugi losing." Rebecca assured Yugi, making him blush.

"Me neither." Atem agreed. Yugi was excellent at video games. Not much of a useful talent but it worked when people tried to get in a bet with him.

"Rebecca!" from downstairs her grandfather called for her. "Rebecca!"

"Coming!" she yelled back, tossing the figure and sprinting to the door. Atem quickly reached his arm out to catch it, and saved it from possibly breaking.

Yugi, slightly annoyed, didn't say anything and took it to put it to its place. "Atem, can I ask a favor from you?" At his nod, he continued. "Remember when Rebecca asked me to go out with her to downtown? I mean, I was going to but Tea texted me asking if I wanted to hang out and... I couldn't reject her. You know me Atem, it's Tea."

Atem nodded knowingly, Yugi wouldn't choose anything over Tea. "Do you want me to take Rebecca out?"

"If you would." Which, Yugi knew Atem would. His brother had a soft spot for him.

"Yugi dear! Atem!"

"We're coming!"

️ _The next day️_

A soft rhythm ringing in her ears, Mana skipped in delight as she walked around the bazaar. She didn't like wearing clothes from highly known brands; she bought good quality and cheap pieces from here and there and matched them herself.

She entered a shop, and started looking around. A lacey white dress caught her eye, she liked the design of it. She didn't own that many dresses but Atem always told her she looked beautiful in them. He would like this one too.

Mana tried the dress on and as she paid for it, she was already planning a date for them.

 _This dress and my starry necklace, my white heels. If I'm lucky he won't drool all over me. We can go to that sushi restaurant I wanted to go to. Then he would walk me home. We can stop by the park and hang out for a while. The sea looks pretty clear from there._

Her mind was working in a frenzy, she could plan a whole month when she got like this.

Bags in her hands and a possible date night on her mind, Mana walked out of the shop. Now that Mahad knew about them, they didn't need to hide their relationship from anybody, which made Mana jump in joy because she would get to go on dates with Atem. Before, they would always meet up at Mana's house since Mahad was rarely there, but now... She could even go to his house, as Yugi knew of them too!

The fact that Yugi just went along with it confused Mana. She had expected a change of mood, a protest maybe?

Then again, why would he? What's it to him?

 _Maybe we were just that obvious. Maybe Yugi already knew?_ Before the unwanted thoughts started to bother her, Mana quickly remembered that it didn't matter anymore.

She could be with Atem! She wanted to be with Atem, so badly. Yes, they would fake-fight a lot. And they have had their fair share of real arguments as well. They just weren't that cute couple who agreed on everything. They both were stubborn, didn't like being ordered around or corrected, and couldn't have it when someone tried doing their way.

Their personalities clashed but... they had become friends really quickly too. Because their minds were alike, when they would finally agree on something nothing or no one could present any other valid arguments. When they were together time just seemed to pass quicker than any other time.

He had been with her longer than she could remember. Mahad had enjoyed being the boy's brother; at the time, he wasn't used to the idea of having a little sister, girls were icky. Especially _his_ sister, for stealing all the attention from their parents. He sought for the younger boy's companion more than anything because of that.

No wonder Mana was so dependent on having Atem around, he had been there her whole life. When he was a little boy; when they were growing up and their friendship was getting stronger; when they were in middle school where she realized him bullying her was not because he didn't like her, but because he liked her even more than before...

No one saw when one day Atem started to annoy Mana by squeezing her cheeks and he couldn't help himself before pulling her face to his. No one heard when she gasped but didn't do anything to stop him. No one knew exactly when their banter turned into love confessions.

It had just... happened. And surprisingly it was still going. Mana had no intentions to put a stop to it, in her mind they were still growing closer by each passing day.

Thinking of her lover boy instantly made her miss him, and she decided to give him a call. Afterall, nothing bad would come out of it if he came here to meet up with her.

Mana found a bench to sit and set her bags aside. Her phone was already in her hand, ringing Atem's number. He wasted no time.

" _Hello?"_

"Hey Temmy! Are you busy?" Mana sang.

It took him a few seconds to respond. _"I'm getting ready to head out; I have a dentist appointment."_

"You didn't mention that before. Are you feeling good? What is it?" she asked.

 _"I'm alright, don't worry. Just a regular check-up. Why'd you call?"_

"It's... not important." Mana waved it away. "I was shopping and thought maybe you could come over here and we could get lunch, but you go to your appointment."

His voice sounded disappointed. _"That does sound good though. I'll make that up for you, okay?"_

"Okay. Talk to you later then?"

 _"I'll call you. Bye."_ Mana noted that he was rushing to end the talk but paid no mind to it, he must have been in a time crunch.

"Bye."

A pout formed on her face, and Mana stood up to get lunch herself. Maybe she could get it for two and visit Mahad at the museum. Or invite Amane if she wasn't busy, Mana knew she would need to talk about the whole "Marik issue".

Mana took her time going to the food court, still thinking about Marik and Amane, when out of nowhere, she heard the most sickening sound she could hear. From somewhere behind her, in the distance a shrill and ear-scratching laughter made her turn around in agony. She knew who this voice belonged to, she hated that she knew it, she tried to pretend like she didn't hear it but no, it was definitely her.

Her eyes found Rebecca who was still giddy from laughing, sitting at a cafe with-

 _Atem?_

 _No, that's not Atem. He's on his way to the dentist. That's Yugi. Please be Yugi._

But it _was_ Atem. Mana couldn't see his face, it was easy to assume as such but she knew her boyfriend's body pose and gestures. That was Atem.

He had his phone in hand, twirling it and watching it turn. _We just talked too!_

Quickly she hid behind a beam even though they wouldn't realize she was there if they didn't look around carefully. She tried to think of a reason why Atem would not tell her he's with Rebecca. Mana assumed it was because he didn't want her to get the wrong impression. And he was right about that thought. Seeing Rebecca and Atem by themselves did enrage Mana. Not _entirely_ because she didn't trust him, mostly because Rebecca had always sought for Yugi and Atem's unwavering attention; and she wouldn't stop until she was the center of it. There was nothing she could do about it either, it only encouraged Rebecca to get even clingier. Atem loved those moments, since it usually meant _he_ would get to make Mana jealous as she kept doing that. He wouldn't prolong it though and he was always careful. That was probably the reason why he chose not to tell her as well.

But Mana's mind would not set at ease, she didn't want to leave them alone now that she saw them. Not that joining them was an option either, since she didn't want to make Atem uncomfortable after he literally _lied_. To not make her worry but it was still a lie.

And there was still a small chance that -and Mana didn't want to admit it- Atem preferred spending time with Rebecca, rather than with her. If that was the case then she needed some answers.

Her appetite long gone, Mana turned around to leave. For now she would be silent. Surely he would explain why he did it.

Or she would _make_ him explain it.

Meanwhile, at a house not so far away from where Mana was starting to get suspicions of her worst nightmare; Amane was currently living in hers.

"I _don't_ understand why you keep giving me attitude, you should be blaming Ryou!" yelled Bakura as she slammed the door on his face, moody from having to talk to him. "He didn't give permission to Marik!"

Amane knew why her big brother was doing this, he was throwing Ryou under the bus so Amane wouldn't be mad at him; using him as a scapegoat.

Her silent treatment on her brothers and Marik were still going. She remembered Mana's advice on talking to them but her judgement would be wrong on them if she tried listening to them while angry.

"I'm coming in!" Bakura yelled out, to which Amane responded with throwing one of her purses to her door. It hit there with a loud thud, she thought it was enough to let him know she didn't want him inside.

It was. He didn't come in.

"Fine! But just so you'll know, I'm ordering pizza for dinner and I will make them put extra, _extra_ onions."

Amane walked to her bed and threw herself on it, that was all she did nowadays. Laying down and thinking; about how her brother and her boyfriend both kept secrets from her. And not like the way she did, their secrets was about hurting themselves and possibly other people.

Bakura wouldn't take her seriously at all, he had become even more careless, trying to get Amane to talk to him by doing stuff that was unlike him, making her get even angrier at him. Marik in the other hand had been trying to reach her as himself but Amane knew she wouldn't be able to judge and decide while she was still angry at him. She didn't return his calls.

To many, it didn't seem like much but Amane was deeply hurt. When Amane talked to Marik on the phone the other day and Bakura listened, she had defended Marik, telling Bakura that he did not hide anything from her and he had abused her trust, Amane would never forget that. Forgiving was easy but forgetting... She wasn't the one to hold grudges but she could never get that same energy back she shared with the people who disrespected her.

Marik was just anybody either, he was her _boyfriend._ She loved him with all her heart. Only, she loved the Marik she -apparently- knew. Not the real him. Her Marik gave her cuddles when she was feeling down, sneakily stole kisses when she was distracted, sent her text messages every day and night, found every minuscule reason to get her a present, went out of his way to walk her home only to be with her more even if it was just a few seconds.

Her Marik also knew she didn't like it when people smoked next to her, or at all. That toxic stuff made people sick, smelled disgusting too. Some of the people she knew had told her it was ridiculous to think as such, and it was unrealistic to _hate_ something _so natural._

But she did. Alcohol was the same. Besides, Marik was _underage_. Clearly he didn't care, but Amane did and Marik knew she did.

But those were not nearly as important compared to the fact that he lied to her. He had showed himself as someone he was not. Amane remembered, how they discussed how unhealthy those addictions were. She was now amazed at how smoothly he could lie and trick people.

Even if she did forgive him, Amane couldn't trust him the way she did before. Maybe it would have been better if he had told her some other time, and not when he was forced to, but it was too late for that.

Her phone buzzed, Amane sighed knowing that it was from Marik, yet again. Though, she was wrong. It was from Mana, saying that they needed to meet up.

 **I'm about to ruin everything, so buckle up for the ultimate cringefest.**


End file.
